Twelve of Australia's best young winemakers will be gathering in Melbourne on Saturday, June 1, and you're invited to spend an afternoon in their company. You'll be sampling their latest drops, asking all the questions and, ultimately, deciding who decides to get take home the 13th Young Gun of Wine People's Choice Award. To be part of wine history in the making — and play James Halliday for the day — you need to snag a $45 (or $55 after May 25) ticket and rock up at midday. The event, being held by City Wine Shop, will be happening at St Martins Youth Arts Centre. As well as wine, there'll be burgers and vegan fare from 24-hour Melbourne favourite Butchers Diner. Four states and some of Australia's most famous wineries are represented in the Young Gun list of finalists — including Andrew Scott from La Petite Mort in Queensland's Granite Belt, Sacha La Forgia from the Adelaide Hills Distillery, Ben Ranken from Macedon Ranges' Wilimee and Rhys Parker and Paul Hoffman from Vallée du Venom in the Margaret River. If, on the day, any particular drops takes your fancy, you'll be able to buy bottles at cellar door prices.
East Malvern's humble Central Park isn't quite as grand as the one in NYC, but it'll certainly be tastier with the East Malvern Food and Wine Festival coming to its green lawns on Sunday, November 17. The weather will (surely) be warming up by then and it'll be a wise call to spend a day in the park — especially when you add 20 Victorian wineries and a handful of breweries into the mix. Go along to taste vino from Bendigo, Rutherglen and Heathcote regions, beers from Cheltenham's Bad Shepherd Brewing Co, G&Ts from Great Ocean Road Gin and espresso martinis from Mr Black, and taste till your heart is content and you've forgotten tomorrow is Monday. Food-wise, there'll be snacks from 48h Pizza & Gnocchi Bar, Mishiki Dumplings, Nepal Dining, The Greek Shop, The Smoke Pit and an ice cream stall where you can really go all out and treat yourself. You'll be able to stock up on artisanal produce (including lots of cheese) and, if you or your mates have kids, you can send them to a magician masterclass. It's also dog-friendly, so bring along your fur babies, too. The event is free to attend — you'll just need to buy your food and wine as you go — but you can pre-buy wine-tasting packages if you're super keen. East Malvern Food and Wine Festival runs from 11am–5.30pm.
As much as we love catching a movie under the stars, outdoors cinemas are usually more of a balmy night activity. After all, it's sort of hard to focus on the story when your extremities are going numb. Enter Hot Tub Cinema Club. Coming back to to a secret Melbourne location for two weeks this October, this novelty nickelodeon works exactly the way you think it does: you and your mates strip down to your togs and enjoy a flick from the comfort of a bubbling tub. Melbourne has already tried the concept last year, and after a season in Sydney, the club is coming back down south for eight sessions between October 15 and 24. The program focuses on old crowd favourites rather than new releases, including Mean Girls, Lion King, Dirty Dancing and Anchorman. Seems like a missed opportunity to include Jaws or Splash, really. Tickets aren't cheap at around $54 for an individual spot or $220 for a whole hot tub that fits five people. Tub service is included in the ticket price though, so you don't have to hop out of the tub if you don't wanna.
This year, spend January 26 hanging out with some of the newest, hoppiest local brews as Beer Deluxe showcases a whole swag of homegrown talent at its annual Hop Quest showdown. Descending on the Federation Square beer oasis from 11am will be 20 of Australia's hottest craft breweries, each with a brand-new, hop-tastic beer release in tow. We're talking beers so fresh, their details will remain top secret until the big day. Guests will have a chance to sample all of these never-before-seen creations and to chat with reps from each brewery, enjoying $5 beer tasters throughout the day, before casting their vote for Hop Quest 2019's reigning champ. All of your favourites are coming to the party, including CoConspirators Brewing, KAIJU Beer, 3 Ravens Brewery, Wolf of the Willows, Mr.Banks Brewing Co, Sailors Grave and more. Entry is free, though you'll want to book a table to guarantee a chance to try these much-hyped new release brews. Images: Giulia Morlando
It's been far too long since Birrarung Marr was last enveloped in the smoky scents and region-hopping flavours of the Night Noodle Markets. But the wait is finally over, as the much-loved food festival breaks free from its COVID-enforced hibernation and returns to its riverside home from Thursday, November 10–Sunday, November 27. And that, friends, means it's time to start plotting exactly what tempting street food bites you'll be tucking into over those 18 flavour-packed nights. Especially since we've scored a peek at the full lineup of vendors and hawker stalls hitting this year's Night Noodle Markets — and the signature menus they'll be serving up for your karaage-scoffing, noodle-slurping, dumpling-downing pleasure. So, from barbecue and bao to dumplings and doughnuts, we're here to break down all the must-try eats to pop on your market itinerary. [caption id="attachment_875062" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flying Noodle[/caption] Of course, the Night Noodle Markets' namesake dish will be in strong supply, including some new gravity-defying offerings from Flying Noodle. Try the likes of The Big Boss, featuring marinated chicken and chinese broccoli, or the Way of the Dragon — pork belly slow-cooked in a honey soy sauce with tamarind and black pepper. The folks at Teppanyaki Noodles are serving a Japanese riff on the concept with their fried yakisoba creation, while Queensland's Raijin will be turning out crispy chicken karaage noodles (and a tofu karaage version), alongside their house dumplings. Speaking of which, your dumpling dreams are set to come true many times over, thanks in part to the Bumplings x Mazda stall. Brendan Pang's legendary Perth dumpling house is teaming up with the car brand to deliver a special menu of signature morsels designed to pair with his exclusive Soul Red Crystal sauce. [caption id="attachment_875067" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wonderbao[/caption] In the dumpling-adjacent corner, you'll catch Wonderbao whipping up six different bao varieties, with fillings ranging from roast pork belly and Korean fried chicken, to tofu okonomiyaki and sweet custard. As always, there'll be plenty of things on sticks, headlined by a bumper lineup from the masters at Hoy Pinoy. Get your Filipino barbecue fix via their inihaw na baboy (pork belly skewers glazed in banana ketchup) and inihaw na manok (soy-glazed chicken skewers), alongside other creations like a chicken adobo rice bowl and the bistek tagalog — soy-glazed beef rump that's roasted and smoked over charcoal, and served on rice. [caption id="attachment_875064" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hoy Pinoy[/caption] Meanwhile, at May's Malaysian stall, you'll find a sizzling array of fusion plates including char kway teow, nasi goreng and Singapore noodles. And crowd-favourite, Windsor's Mr Miyagi, will be coming to the party with a brand new menu in tow, dishing up three Japanese-inspired bao burgers — a crumbed mushroom and miso mayo number, a pork katsu creation and a new take on the classic chicken schnitty roll. [caption id="attachment_875060" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Demochi Donut[/caption] Dessert fiends aren't forgotten, either, with an array of mochi-doughnut mash-ups courtesy of Sydney's Demochi Donut, and an Asian-inspired Messina offering starring the likes of the dulce de leche-infused HK French Toast and the Milo Fry Club — pudding made from the Messinatella choc-hazelnut spread with deep-fried Milo gelato and an Oreo crumble. Since all that eating will be thirsty work, you'll have stacks of liquid treats to choose from, too. Hit Cointreau's retro Margarita Kombi for an original or spicy marg, quench your thirst the fruity way beneath the Rekorderlig Cider dome, or drop by the Stomping Ground beer garden for a couple of cold cans. And if you're getting noodly sans booze, try the Dan Murphy's Zero% Bar (a new edition of its Hampton pop-up) for non-alcoholic beers and made-to-order booze-free cocktails, including a Salted Caramel Espresso Martini. Melbourne's 2022 Night Noodle Markets will run from Thursday, November 10–Sunday, November 27 at Birrarung Marr, Melbourne. For more details on the menu, head to the Night Noodle Markets website. Top Images: Hoy Pinoy, Mr Miyagi, Wonderbao.
Get ready rock fans, for the Arctic Monkeys will be returning to Australia and New Zealand next year. The British band will embark on their biggest down under tour to date this autumn for their latest album, AM. The album, which was released this past September, is the band's fifth consecutive number 1 in the UK and also debuted at the top spot in the ARIA Albums Chart. So, Aussie and Kiwi fans, get stoked because you'll soon have the chance to hear their awesome collection of new jams, including chart toppers such as 'R U Mine?' and 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?' Original fans needn't worry, because the Monkeys never forget to pay tribute to their old school favourites. You'll probably still get your chance to belt out 'Fluorescent Adolescent's, "Oh the boy's a slag / The best you ever had / The best you ever had." Arctic Monkeys 2014 Tour Dates: Auckland: May 2, Vector Arena Wellington: TSB Arena Sydney: May 6, Entertainment Centre Brisbane: May, Entertainment Centre Melbourne: May 9, Rod Laver Arena Adelaide: May 10, AEC Theatre Perth: May 13, Perth Arena Tickets go on sale December 11 https://youtube.com/watch?v=6366dxFf-Os
By this stage, most of us have come to terms with the fact that jetting off to USA or Europe is a seriously long slog, made worse by unavoidable (sometimes long, always painful) stopovers. But that European or American trip could soon become a whole lot more bearable, with Qantas not only working towards launching direct flights between the east coast and both London and New York by 2022, but beginning to run trial journeys this year. In October, November and December, the airline will pilot three ultra long-haul research flights, using new Boeing 787-9s. The aircraft will simulate two routes that are at the heart of Qantas' proposed new non-stop plan, which is called Project Sunrise, flying from New York and London to Sydney. That New York trip will mark the first world's first flight by a commercial airline direct from the Big Apple to Sydney, while the London jaunt will be the second time such a journey has been made. The last time the latter happened was back in 1989, when Qantas made the trek on a Boeing 747-400 with just 23 people on board. Don't go packing your bags, though — the aim is to gather data about inflight passenger and crew health and wellbeing, with only around 40 people making the trip. They'll be comprised of crew and Qantas employees, and they'll be fitted with wearable technology devices to monitor their monitor sleep patterns, food and beverage consumption, physical movement and use of the entertainment system during the flights. The results will then be assessed by scientists and medical experts from the Charles Perkins Centre. Pilots will also take part, working with Monash University researchers to record their melatonin levels before, during and after the flights, as well as their brain wave patterns and alertness — to help ascertain the best work and rest pattern when they're commanding those long-haul services. While spending nearly a day on one single plane is better than jumping on and off different vessels multiple times, it's not without its physical, mental and emotional toll — as anyone who has made the trip with Qantas from Perth to London knows, which is what makes this testing so important. Announcing the trial, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce explained that, "for customers, the key will be minimising jet lag and creating an environment where they are looking forward to a restful, enjoyable flight. For crew, it's about using scientific research to determine the best opportunities to promote alertness when they are on duty and maximise rest during their down time." Back in 2017, Qantas first revealed that it was exploring non-stop routes from Sydney — routes that would eclipse those direct flights between Perth and London, which launched in March 2018. Since then, the airline has been pursuing the idea enthusiastically, putting out a call for aircraft that can handle the trip and widening their plan to include departures to and from Brisbane as well. In numbers, the planes will need to be able to handle more than 19 hours in the air (around 20 hours and 20 minutes between Sydney and London, and 18-hours and seven minutes from Sydney to New York). The airline has done its homework, analysing a decade's worth of wind and weather data to confirm the lengthy routes are actually possible. Now it just needs the aircraft, with Airbus and Boeing both pitching vessels (A350 and 777X) that are capable of doing the job. Qantas is expected to announce their decision, including whether the whole project will progress to making commercial flights, by the end of December 2019. Right now, the world's longest direct flight clocks in at over 19 hours, with Singapore Airlines flying 15,322-kilometres along its Singapore-to-New York route. Previously, the journey from Doha and Auckland earned that honour, taking around 18 hours to travel 14,529 kilometres.
Doughnut fiends, drop everything and run — don't walk — to Windsor. For one week only between September 18 and 25, 190 High Street is playing host to the first-ever Bistro Morgan doughnut pop-up. If you've tried their delectable orbs of pastry, you'll know why we're encouraging you to rush there as quickly as possible. Did we mention that chef Morgan Hipworth makes a Golden Gaytime doughnut? We can hear your stomach grumbling from here. You'll also find Ferrero Rocher, Fairy Floss, Fruit Loops, peanut butter and jelly, and Bounty bar concoctions among his ever-growing range of handmade deliciousness, with each stacked with toppings, brandishing a sauce-filled syringe or both. Of course, it's not just Hipworth's mouth-watering creations that have caused a buzz over the last 18 months, and caused eager doughnut lovers to flock to the cafes that stock them each and every weekend — it's also the chef himself. He's been called Melbourne's doughnut prince, and it's a label that fits. The 15-year-old whips up his tasty treats when he's not at high school, after all. Yes, really. Hipworth taught himself to cook when he was seven, after being inspired by Masterchef (and provided perhaps the best endorsement of reality television he ever could in the process). Cooking up three-course dinners for his parents and grandparents then turned into Bistro Morgan. He still runs things from home around his classes, but he eventually wants to open his own cafes and restaurants. For now, we'll all be more than happy with a week-long pop-up serving his damn fine doughnuts. Find Bistro Morgan's pop-up store at 190 High Street, Windsor from September 18 to 25. Check out their website and Facebook page for more information.
The Bastille Day French Festival is back, meaning it's time for budding Francophiles to don their best blue, white and red outfit for the occasion. Taking over Queen Victoria Market's C and D sheds once more, this celebratory winter event is happening on Saturday, July 12–Sunday, July 13, featuring a bustling program of top-notch cuisine, live music and masterclasses. French flavours are a natural focus, with a host of local businesses bringing their wares to the market. Renowned baker Quentin Berthonneau from Oji House will serve his incredible sourdough, spanning baguettes, brioche vendéenne, buttery croissants, and jambon-beurre and cheese sandwiches. Meanwhile, iconic French cheese producer Fromager d'Affinois will offer super-smooth double-cream and triple-cream cheeses. You can't have a French market without macarons, so MD Royale Bakes is serving bright, bite-sized treats handcrafted to perfection. Beyond cuisine, the market will also feature a host of France-forward shops, like the Language International Bookshop, with hand-drawn illustrations by artist Susan Kerian depicting the streets of Paris. Forming part of the cultural program, this year's Bastille Festival also includes Les Lumieres Talks – a series of events focused on French history and current events, from the political legacy of street art to the latest tech innovations in sport. There are also fascinating masterclasses to explore, where guests are invited to learn how to pair cheese and wine, create stencil art, and appreciate the ins and outs of the nation's haute fragrance houses.
Remember when your mum told you that it's what's on the inside that counts? At the Australian Interior Design Awards, that's definitely the case. Returning for 2021, the country's premier interior design gongs reward excellence in hospitality, installation, residential, workplace, retail and public design, as well as residential decoration — and it has just revealed its lengthy (and obviously eye-catching) 2021 shortlist. A word of warning for those who like their interiors swish, plush, luxurious and stylish all round: you're going to want to live in or visit all of the places vying for this year's awards. Thankfully, with plenty of bars and restaurants in the running, the latter is definitely possible. In Sydney, in the hospitality field, the likes of Harbord Hotel, Ciccia Bella, Sydney Tower and Atomic Beer Project are among the spots vying for glory. Well, for a shiny prize and plenty of recognition to go with their shiny interiors, to be exact. Melbourne's Farmer's Daughters, Poodle Bar and Bistro, First Love Coffee, Hero at ACMI, Byrdi, Citizen Snack Bar and Next Hotel also rank among the places in the running, while Brisbane's Industry Beans and Ping Pong Thai Restaurant also made the cut. In South Australia, Never Never Distillery and Hotel Indigo join the places in contention. [caption id="attachment_803565" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] First Love, Rebecca Newman[/caption] The list goes on — both for bars, cafes, restaurants and hotels, with 33 places in contention in total, and throughout the awards' other categories. A whopping 190 places have made it through to this stage across all fields, which means that there is no shortage of strikingly deigned new, revamped and refurbished places demanding your attention around around the country. After the event went virtual in 2020 — handing out its gongs via a virtual broadcast — this year's winners will be announced in-person at a dinner the Hyatt Regency Sydney on Friday, September 3. For the full Australian Interior Design Awards 2021 shortlist, head to the AIDA website. Top image: Sydney Tower, Robert Walsh.
Twenty-five years ago, a TV sitcom about six New Yorkers made audiences a promise: that it'd be there for us. And, as well as making stars out of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer, the hit series has done just that. Sure, Friends wrapped up its ten-season run in 2004, but the show has lived on — on streaming platforms, by sending an orange couch around Australia and by screening anniversary marathons in cinemas. In news that was bound to happen someday — no pop culture entity truly comes to an end in these reboot, remake, revival and spinoff-heavy times — it looks like Friends is going to live on in a much more literal sense, too. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that a deal is in the works to bring back the show for a reunion special on HBO's new streaming platform HBO Max. Naturally, if it happens, all of the gang will be involved. Almost certainly set to be called 'The One with a Reunion', the special will be unscripted — which means that Aniston and company aren't likely to actually step back into Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe and Ross's shoes; rather, they'll chat about their experiences on the show. Still, they'll all be on-screen at the same time celebrating the series that so many folks love, which is probably enough for fans. And, really, who knows what could spring from there. We're purely speculating, but if other big 90s sitcoms like Will & Grace, Mad About You and apparently Frasier can make a proper comeback, then surely everyone's favourite Central Perk regulars can as well. Friends creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman are also slated to join the reunion special, if it comes to fruition. If you're wondering when it could happen, THR notes that it'll largely depend on the relevant parties' schedules — although HBO Max is due to launch in the US in May 2020, so perhaps it'll be sooner rather than later. For folks Down Under, there doesn't seem to be a current plan to bring the streaming platform to our shores. Instead, the company appears to be continuing to focus on its existing arrangements with local channels and streamers for the time being. Via The Hollywood Reporter.
In multiple different web-slinging franchises across multiple decades, everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man has been on quite the on-screen journey. He's been played by different actors, faced a whole heap of different foes, and spun his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, too — and in Spider-Man: No Way Home, all this chaos is set to converge. The third Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland (Chaos Walking) in the role, Spider-Man: No Way Home already teased plenty of multiverse madness in its first teaser trailer. Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog) plays a pivotal part this time around, too, ahead of the character's own dedicated next flick — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — which is set to arrive in 2022. But the just-dropped new Spidey sneak peek shows just how far the movie is willing to go when it comes to all those other Spider-Man films that've reached screens over the years. No, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield don't show up, but some of the villains they fought make an appearance. Get ready to get reacquainted with Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin from 2002's Spider-Man, as well as Alfred Molina's Otto Octavius from 2004's Spider-Man 2 and Thomas Haden Church's Sandman from 2007's Spider-Man 3. Also re-emerging: Rhys Ifans' the Lizard from 2012' The Amazing Spider-Man and Jamie Foxx's Electro from 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. If you're wondering how this all works, it stems from the big reveal at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, where Peter Parker's secret identity was unveiled to the world. No Way Home picks up with Parker struggling to deal with the fact that everyone now knows who he is, and that he can't now just be an ordinary high schooler when he's not acting the hero. So, he asks Doctor Strange to spin a time- and space-twisting spell, which tears a whole in the world and sparks all of this multiverse mayhem. So far, there's still no sight of Maguire or Garfield — but that could be the kind of surprise that's being saved for cinemas. And, whether the film gets playful as the phenomenal animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is obviously still yet to be seen. No Way Home will feature a heap of other familiar faces, including Zendaya (Space Jam: A New Legacy), Marisa Tomei (The King of Staten Island) and Jacob Batalon (Let It Snow). Behind the lens, Jon Watts returns after previously helming both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home as well. In a nice piece of symmetry, when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness does hit cinemas next year, it'll be directed by Sam Raimi — who also directed the Maguire-starring Spider-Man movies in 2002, 2003 and 2007. Check out the full No Way Home trailer below: Spider-Man: No Way Home opens in Australian cinemas on December 16. Images: ©2021 CTMG. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL.
When The Proposition unleashed its outback western onto cinema screens, it did so with a distinctive sound, all thanks to Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. When The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford explored the death of an American outlaw, The Road took viewers into a post-apocalyptic wasteland and West of Memphis pondered a potential miscarriage of justice, the Australian musicians again provided the soundtrack — as they did with Hell or High Water and Wind River's crime thrills, too. Bandmates across several projects since the 90s — including Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman — Cave and Ellis are Aussie icons, with careers spanning back decades before they started composing music for movies. But even if you've seen the duo play live countless times over the years, you haven't seen anything like the pair's latest show. In two world premiere performances, as part of the 2019 Melbourne International Film Festival on August 9 and 10, Cave and Ellis will take to the stage with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to perform pieces from all of the above film scores. Watch the talented musos work through their movie output, as paired with symphonic sound and conducted by Benjamin Northey — and prepare to witness something special. Tickets for The Film Music of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis go on sale at 10am on Thursday, April 11 on the MSO website. Images: Matthew Thorne / Kerry Brown.
Everyone loves heading overseas for a holiday, but no one likes spending more time actually getting from point A to point B than they absolutely have to. So, before the pandemic grounded international getaways from Australia for the better part of two years, Qantas had been working to make stopovers a thing of the past — introducing direct flights from Perth to London, and exploring the possibility of doing the same from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. While those non-stop east coast legs are currently on hold, the Aussie airline has just announced a new direct trip — and the only flight that'll connect Australia to continental Europe. Between June and October 2022, the carrier will fly return from Perth to Rome three times a week. And yes, that timing is 100-percent aimed at letting Australians take full advantage of European summer holidays. The new flights will technically end and begin in Sydney, with a stopover in Perth — and they'll be more than three hours faster than the current quickest travel time from Australia to Rome. That means fewer hours spent in transit, and more to actually soak in Italy. It also means spending a big unbroken block of time in the air, which still sounds a bit like science fiction after so long without international travel. If that's your 2022 plans sorted — why just have an Australian summer when you can enjoy Europe's warmest season as well? — tickets for the new route have gone on sale, starting from $1785 return. The Sydney–Perth–Rome flights will debut on Wednesday, June 22, and are currently scheduled to run until Thursday, October 6. And, if you're keen to head elsewhere on the continent, you'll be able to use Rome as a connection point to fly to 16 other European destinations, including Athens, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Nice, Madrid and Paris — and 15 spots in Italy, Milan and Venice among them. Also, if you fancy flying into Rome but coming home from London, or vice versa, Qantas will let you combine the two direct routes on the one return ticket. Qantas' new Australia–Rome direct flights will fly from Wednesday, June 22–Thursday, October 6. For more information, or to book tickets, head to the airline's website.
Whether you've never ice skated before or you're the next Torvill or Dean, you'll feel totally comfortable doing your thing at the Rink on Watton. This family-friendly pop-up is for skaters of all levels. You'll find it in the car park at Wyndham Cultural Centre, around 40 minutes' southeast of the Melbourne CBD. But you'll have just nine days — from Saturday, July 5–Sunday, July 13 — to check it out. On top of regular ice skating, which happens from 10.30am–8.30pm daily, keep a lookout for themed sessions and sets by live DJs. Plus, in between spinning, jumping and criss-crossing, you can refuel at the onsite food stalls, where local businesses are peddling winter-inspired treats. Can't find time to make it to Wyndham this July? There are plenty of other spots to ice skate around Melbourne — from O'Brien Icehouse in Docklands to IceHQ in Reservoir. And we're expecting more rinks to pop up this winter, so watch this space.
Taking his homegrown charm to fans one last time, Bored Nothing is wrapping things up in spectacular classic pub style. Launching his second album 'Some Songs' (the first to be recorded outside his beloved bedroom set-up), frontman Fergus Miller will be playing two unforgettable shows in both Sydney and Melbourne. Born and bred in Geelong, Miller has decided to call it a day after three years of recording and producing the dreamy, melancholy tracks Bored Nothing is famous for. After two months gallivanting through Europe for late 2014 touring, a string of support gigs for Brisbanites The John Steel Singers and the release of a handful of hypnotic singles, the new year feels like the perfect time to end Bored Nothing's killer run on a truly great note. Pinned for two packed-out performances in Sydney and Melbourne, these intimate east coast gigs are a fitting send off before Miller sheds his Bored Nothing moniker once and for all.
By now, we all know that plenty of streaming platforms are constantly vying for our eyeballs. We know that those services boast always-expanding catalogues of movies and TV shows, too. And, we're well aware that picking what to watch when you're settling down on the couch is rarely a simple exercise. So, while the fact that Australia's latest streaming service features 20,000 episodes and films is definitely great news, it won't simplify your viewing choices anytime soon. Australians now have another streamer to choose from, with new streaming service Paramount+ launching on Wednesday, August 11. The platform actually rebrands the existing 10 All Access streaming service, with parent company Viacom CBS Australia and New Zealand bringing it into line with the global Paramount+ subscription offering that launched in America in March this year. Paramount+'s big drawcard? Its library of titles from Paramount Pictures — obviously — as well as from Showtime, CBS, BET Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, the Smithsonian Channel and Sony Pictures Television. So, if you're the kind of viewer that loves rewatching your favourite flicks, you'll be able to head to the service to stream movies from the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather, Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones, Transformers, Jackass, Batman and Dark Knight Trilogy franchises. Plus, the likes of Austin Powers in Goldmember, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Grease and Good Will Hunting will also be available on the service, all as part of the $8.99 per month subscription fee. On the TV front, existing series like The Good Fight, The Twilight Zone, Why Women Kill, Charmed and SpongeBob SquarePants will find a new home. Paramount+ is also betting big on new television shows being a big drawcard, so you can expect to add a heap of titles to your must-watch list — including revenge-fuelled miniseries Two Weeks To Live, starring Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams; Leonardo, a historical drama about Leonardo da Vinci; and Anne Boleyn, with Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) as the titular figure. If you're feeling nostalgic, there's also the revival of Nickelodeon's iCarly, following the characters now they're adults; the return of Rugrats, this time with computer-generated animation; and Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, which gives everyone's favourite absorbent, yellow and porous character an origin story. New Mark Wahlberg-starring movie Infinite, which sees him play a man haunted by memories of a life he didn't live, also launches in Australia with the service — and as does new seasons of Five Bedrooms, Why Women Kill and Evil. And, before August is out, you'll be able to stream the Nancy Drew TV series, the latest season of In the Dark, all of Ziwe and Coyote, six-part satire The Bite and horror anthology Monsterland as well. Down the track, Paramount+ will also be home to the new Dexter revival; the Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Old Guard)-starring TV adaptation of The Man Who Fell to Earth; The First Lady, which sees Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) play Michelle Obama; and page-to-screen adaptation The Luminaries. New Australian drama Last King of The Cross is also destined for the platform, as are Melbourne-shot comedy Spreadsheet and coming-of-age feature film 6 Festivals. The list goes on, including spy drama Lioness, a TV adaptation of video game Halo and The Offer, a scripted drama about on the making of The Godfather. Paramount+ is available in Australia from Wednesday, August 11, rebranding the existing 10 All Access streaming platform, with subscriptions costing $8.99. For further information, head to the Paramount+ website.
Tucked down Church Lane is Saving Grace, your friendly neighbourhood dive bar home to good brews, classic cocktails and banging burgers. Saving Grace rotates six seasonal taps with a lineup of largely local craft breweries on the list from the likes of Fixation, Hop Nation, Two Bays, and Hop Nation, as well as lagers from all over. When it comes to cocktails, Saving Grace has a considered collection of twists on classics. Fancy breakfast vibes at happy hour? Try the marmalade whisky sour, a take on a breakfast martini with marmalade, bourbon, lemon bitters, lemon sugar and wonderfoam for a frothy finish. Alternatively, you can chill out with a frozen slushy cocktail — just ask the staff what flavour is on for the night. Saving Grace is also where you'll find Burger Boys pumping out burgers, fried chicken and sides for the hungry drinkers at this lively dive and blues bar.
Leanne Failla's design practice involves investigating how objects play a role in shaping space and the 'intangible' influence objects play in our reading of physical locations. A collection of objects to retain from a collection of objects to discard sees Failla continue her long-held interest in this idea and introduces her own personal narrative by working with objects she owns and values – "reproducing their form using other objects in her possession". By using methods of deconstruction in her art practice, Failla dissects how objects shape space and our experience of it. Failla has previously exhibited her works at the Sheraton Hotel, Seventh Gallery and c3 Contemporary Art Space and has collaborated with Artland as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival. Failla is also the co-director of interior design practice Itself Studio, which she heads alongside fellow designer Jaime Vella. A collection of objects to retain from a collection of objects to discard is on at Blindside Gallery and runs from Wednesday, September 13 until Saturday, September 30. Image: courtesy of Leanne Failla.
One of modern art's most argued-about works has been sold. Tracey Emin's famously debated 1999 work My Bed went under the hammer for the very first time, complete with dirty sheets, cigarette butts and condoms — and taking away a cheeky £2.2 million. Emin, who showed up to the auction yesterday, gained notoriety when her work Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 debuted at a 1997 Charles Saatchi's Sensation exhibition at London's Royal Academy. After getting drunk, going on national TV and getting all sweary, she'd release My Bed two years later to colossal debate. One of modern art's classic "Is this art? What is art? Is this bag of wrenches art?" generators, My Bed was expected to sell between £800,000 and £1.2 million (roughly $1.4 million to $2.2 million) at auction — instead raising the bar to £2.2 million. With the buyer's premium, My Bed really went for £2,546,500; a world record for Emin at auction. Francis Bacon's Study For Head Of Lucian Freud was also put under the hammer, fetching a quiet little price of £10.2 million. The highly-scrutinised installation is a recreation of Emin's actual bed during a rough time — the artist spent days in the bed during relationship difficulties and dealt with suicidal thoughts. Scattered with paraphenalia from the artist's own bedroom (condoms, menstrual-stained underwear, slippers), My Bed caused controversy not for the collective sum of confrontingly personal items but for the stains on the sheets. Gallery-goers saw the traces of bodily secretion as a little too human. "It's a self-portrait, but not one that people would like to see," Emin said. "I took everything out of my bedroom and made it into an installation," Emin said. "And when I put it into a white space, for some people it became quite shocking. But I just thought it looked like a damsel in distress, like a woman fainting or something, needing to be helped." The new owners (who haven't been revealed yet) might be able to recreate the work of two performance artists, Yuan Chai and Jian Jun Xi, who jumped on Emin's bed in a performance creatively titled Two Naked Men Jump into Tracey's Bed. Most interestingly will be the conditions under which the new owner must actually display My Bed. Previously (when not displayed in a gallery setting) the work has been on display at the home of its owner Charles Saatchi. As The Guardian reports, the work — a flurry of seemingly random miscellany — has very meticulous installation instructions. "It's a very complicated piece to put together," Director of Cadogan Tate Fine Art Stephen Glynn says. "It comes with a dossier of photographs of every object, and a list of where exactly everything needs to go." A bit like an Ikea instruction manual, then? "A bit. You're certainly trying to make sure that everything goes in the right place." Displayed at the Tate Modern in 1999, My Bed was shortlisted for the Turner Prize that year. Saatchi can now count its sweet, sweet Emin pennies, with proceeds going straight back to the Saatchi Gallery — the team are moving to make the gallery have free admission. Via BBC, Reuters and The Guardian.
If a great getaway to a beach, island or faraway city can be life-changing, what does a journey to space do? So ponders Constellation, among other questions. This new Apple TV+ series, which started its eight-part first season on Wednesday, February 21, is another of the platform's beloved mysteries — see also: Criminal Record, The Changeling, The Crowded Room, Hijack and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters since mid-2023 alone, and that list isn't exhaustive — with no shortage of queries floating through its tense frames. Inquiries are sparked instantly, from the moment that a mother in a cabin in northern Sweden, where there's snow as far as the eye can see but a frost infecting more than just the temperature, leaves her pre-teen daughter to follow a voice. The screams that she seeks out are yelling "mama!" — and what they mean, and why she's abandoning one girl to find another, is just one of the matters that Constellation interrogates. The woman is Jo Ericsson, as played by Noomi Rapace with the maternal devotion that also marked her turn in Lamb, plus the protective instincts that were key in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant as well — alongside the scrutiny and adaptability that was evident in her work in You Won't Be Alone, and the fierceness that helped bring her to fame as Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo films. Jo is an astronaut, and Europe's representative on the International Space Station when Constellation jumps backwards from its opening icy horror to a different kind of terror. Not long out from returning back to earth, she FaceTimes with her nine-year-old daughter Alice (Rosie and Davina Coleman, The Larkins) and husband Magnus (James D'Arcy, Oppenheimer). Then, something goes bump in the sky. Trauma leaves people changed, too; what if this incident, during which setting foot on our pale blue dot again is anything but assured, isn't the only distressing facet of travelling to the heavens? On the at-risk ISS, on a spacewalk to locate the source of the collision, Jo finds the mummified body of what looks like a 60s-era Russian cosmonaut. There'll soon be another astronaut dead inside the station, destroyed infrastructure, the first escape pod shuttling her three remaining colleagues back to terra firma and Jo left alone trying to repair the second so that she herself can alight home. Where both Gravity and Moon spring to mind in Constellation's initial space-set scenes, plus Proxima in the show's focus on mother-daughter connections (Interstellar, Ad Astra and First Man have dads covered), it's the earthbound Dark that feels like a touchstone once Jo is back among her loved ones. There's a similar moodiness to this series, a feeling that characters can't always trust what they think is plainly apparent and a certainty that nothing is simply linear about what's occurring. Her stint above the planet has made its imprint on Jo, but it's her everyday life that seems altered. Whether or not Alice can speak Swedish, the colour of the family car, if Jo can play the piano, why Magnus is chilly towards her: with each, what confronts Jo post-ISS conflicts with what she can recall prior to ascending to the station. Roscosmos' Irena Lysenko (Barbara Sukowa, Air) is also wary of her claims about spying a decades-old USSR cadaver. And the NASA equivalent, Nobel Prize-winning former Apollo astronaut Henry Caldera (Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul), is concerned only with a quantum-physics experiment that was taking place on the orbiting base, gathering data about a possible new state of matter, which Jo has no recollection of. It might appear convenient that the psychological effects of long-term space travel fuel Jo's research mission on the station, but Constellation creator and writer Peter Harness — who boasts Doctor Who, Wallander, McMafia and The War of the Worlds on his resume — could never be accused of valuing neatness over depth. Unravelling the show's debut season with patience and deliberation, and with Joseph Cedar (Our Boys), Oliver Hirschbiegel (Unwanted) and Michelle MacLaren (an Emmy-winner for Breaking Bad) directing, he's dedicated to ensuring that the series intensely ruminates on the liminal. Constellation is about disorientation and transition, about the space where being too much of something and not enough of another smash and clash, and about coping with realising that life is always what happens in-between — as well as the fact that sometimes that truth applies more literally than others. As a thriller and a mystery, Constellation names Jo's daughter cannily; tumbling down the rabbit hole is a solid parallel. Viewers won't spy cakes and bottles labelled "eat me" and "drink me", but there are pills and supplements. No one goes chasing a walking, talking white bunny; however, a rabbit toy does feature, and clinging onto what Jo knows is real is just as elusive. While there's no Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Bud Caldera (also Banks) mirrors much about Henry, except that he's now working the sci-fi convention circuit. And although cries of "off with her head" are absent, the dismissals from those around Jo about what's happening with her perception is its own equivalent. Alice in Wonderland comparisons were always going to fit a story about curiouser and curiouser minds pursuing wild adventures, then endeavouring to reclaim their footing. At times, especially in remote lodgings in freezing woodland, the dark fairy-tale vibe beats stronger. But again, even when Constellation dances with fantasy like it's clutching onto a waltz partner — and does the same with eeriness as well — the series never stops being grounded in human bonds, emotions, yearnings and existential concerns. As the reality of both being alive and facing mortality, the urge to understand our place in the cosmos and the sheer enormity of the universe thrum throughout the show regardless of whether it's in space or on land, each is always brought back to people, rather than remaining mere concepts. Rapace, Banks, both Coleman sisters and Sukowa are especially instrumental in anchoring Constellation's twists, turns and big-thinking ideas in the show's characters — and making it so compelling. It isn't just as slickly made as Apple TV+'s fellow excellent recent sci-fi series Severance and Silo, then, and as gripping in its mysteries, but as rivetingly acted. Banks, doing double duty after over a decade as Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul's Mike Ehrmantraut, is particularly emblematic: that there's a chasm between what we want to comprehend and what's around us gleams in his eyes as both Henry and Bud, while his twin parts equally demonstrate how differently it glints from person to person. Check out the trailer for Constellation below: Constellation streams via Apple TV+ from Wednesday, February 21. Read our interview with Jonathan Banks.
Ah, Sriracha. Possibly the only condiment with a true cult following. From ramen to lollies, it can be used on and in anything, literally. Devotes can’t live without that so hot but so good burn that leaves mouths on fire, noses runny and eyes watery. Well, people, there’s some bad news. The major Sriracha factory in California is partially shutting down. All because the citizens of Irwindale couldn’t take a little heat. Residents complained of heartburn, inflamed asthma and even nosebleeds that were caused by a "spicy odour" coming from the factory. They took Huy Fong Foods to court, where a local judge ordered the manufacturer to stop doing, er, whatever they were doing to cause the stench. The ruling does not order the company to stop operating entirely, nor specify the types of actions that are required. Basically, they can go back to making their spicy sauce once they get that damn smell under wraps. The best part: the judge conceded to the "lack of credible evidence" linking the apparent health problems to the odour, but said that it seems to be "extremely annoying, irritating and offensive to the senses warranting consideration as a public nuisance." Weeeak. So what does this mean for Sriracha lovers? Well, because Huy Fong uses only the freshest chillies in its secret recipe, the fiery little guys must be ground within days of harvest. This process, which happens only two or three months out of the year, has fortunately been completed. The bottling process goes on year round, but a partial shutdown of this factory, the largest of two, could leave the sauce to spoil. Since the company already struggles to keep up with its growing global demand, this is no bueno. Huy Fong’s founder, David Tran, claims he’s never raised the wholesale price for the sauce in over 30 years, but that might have to change. So you might want to think about making a supermarket trip or two, like soon. Image via ilovememphis. Story via Quartz.
Sofia Coppola is not the first director that comes to mind when you think Disney. In fact, with her consistent focus on complicated and dreamy sadness — see Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides and Somewhere — she seems like the perfect buzzkill to all the joy and greatness that Sebastian the crab worked for all those years ago. Nonetheless, this divisive filmmaker is currently in negotiations to direct a live-action adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale. Deadline reports that the script has already gone through multiple drafts from Kelly Marcel (Fifty Shades of Grey) and Abi Morgan (Shame) and is currently in the hands of Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands). With that in mind, it's safe to assume the film will in fact be a darkly sexual story that may or may not feature either Johnny Depp in BDSM gear or Michael Fassbender in no clothes. Although this will Coppola's first feature where she didn't write the screenplay, it's easy to see how her brand of 'beautiful and bothered young things' will work seamlessly with the original story. Ariel is, after all, a girl with problems. She's besotted with a boy she can't have, she's split between two worlds, and the story finishes with her taking the less than lovely form of sea foam (I'd warn for spoilers but, hey, you've had over 100 years to read it). As ridiculous as it first sounds, we're actually excited by the news. Now all that's left is to decide whether Kirsten Dunst or Scarlett Johansson would make the better hipster Ariel.
A plug nickel is a five cent coin where the "plug", or centre disk, has been removed to decrease its value. The guys from Dr Morse may have named their new hole-in-the-wall café after one of them because, well, it's not much more than a hole punched into the wall — but while Plug Nickel is definitely small, it's by no means short of value. Located just off Smith Street a few doors up from Lazerpig, Plug Nickel only has ten seats. The reasoning behind this bare bones layout is that this pocket of Collingwood already has Proud Mary and Major Major; it didn't need another sit-down speciality coffee café. Plug Nickel instead focuses on takeaway food and coffee — and you don't need many seats for that. So how do they produce edibles in a space so small? Well, food is prepared at Dr Morse on Johnston Street every morning and brought over to the Peel Street space. It's then placed, on request, into their high-tech Turbo Chef oven, which heats up food in three minutes and takes it from cold, to hot, to crispy. "Our whole thing is to have food and coffee out the door within three minutes," says Lucien Kolff, one of Plug Nickel's owners. "It fits with our whole ethos of getting things out as fast and efficiently as possible. But it's not like we're just chucking it in the microwave. It's good food." A small takeaway menu features breakfast roti, pork sandwiches, sausage rolls, pies, noodle salads and soup. They also have two cold coffee taps installed on the back bar. One pours Nitro Black, a single origin espresso infused with nitrogen that tastes like a creamy, fizzy cold coffee. The other serves Sparkling Cascara, which sees dried berries from the coffee plant brewed like tea for 48 hours. It tastes like iced tea, but is still highly caffeinated. There might not be a kitchen at Plug Nickel, but there is a hairdresser and a bike shop. After acquiring the heritage space, the owners decided it would be too disjointed to have seating in the other rooms. So they rented it out to their hairdresser friend Ginger Light, who has opened her one-seat salon Ginger Hair. Bike shop Northside Wheelers plan to be open and running in the next room by mid-June.
Melbourne has embraced the humble picnic with a vengeance, making grassy patches of parkland the new dining destinations of choice. And this Saturday, October 23–Sunday, October 24, Vue de Monde will be following suit. The acclaimed fine diner is swapping its sleek 55th-floor Rialto Towers digs for the expanse of the Royal Botanic Gardens' Southern Cross Lawn for this pop-up weekend barbecue. Along with his crew, Executive Chef Hugh Allen will be firing up the barbie to serve a special menu of top-shelf snacks and high-quality barbecue fare, including iconic creations like the crab sausages and the signature lamington-inspired dessert. Joining in the al fresco fun will be Vue de Monde's sommelier team, with some top picks from the restaurant's 15,000-strong cellar selection in tow. They'll host a pop-up cellar door slinging a wide variety of drops, including a bunch of wines not normally available to the general public. Venue-exclusive wine The Forgotten Barrels is also set to make an appearance. It all kicks on until 4pm each day, or until dishes and drinks sell out. Top Barbecue Imagery: Harvard Wang
Who doesn't love a pie? These flaky, buttery shells full of thick soupy goodness come in infinite forms. They can be sweet or savoury, meat-packed or vegan, and the fillings can be inspired by just about any cuisine. Finding the best pie in Victoria is almost impossible, but the city of Ballarat is spending an entire month trying to find its greatest local pie. From now until the end of August, 28 local chefs, restaurants, cafes and bakeries are gunning for the top spot, and you, dear readers, can try each and every one of them. [caption id="attachment_969123" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 1816 Bakehouse[/caption] Fans of the classic meat pie can sample 1816 Bakehouse's beef filet mignon pie, and traditional sweet tooths can score a slice of Aussie Oggie Pasty Co's apple crumble pie. But most spots are flipping the script, creating altogether wild and unusual fillings. Hope Bakery at Sovereign Hill has a Vegemite and cheese pie, Hot Temple has cooked up a green chicken mole version, The George Hotel has filled its with beef rendang, and Flying Chillies has gone all out with a curry laksa pie. The organisers have also been gracious enough to draw up an official Ballarat Pie Trail for those seeking to try as many creations as possible when visiting this regional city. Just make sure you stop by Itinerant Spirits — the winner of Ballarat's Best Pie competition — which is serving up a moreish sweet apple and vodka pie served warm with creamy pine nettle ice cream. [caption id="attachment_969126" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Itinerant Spirits[/caption] Top images: Grainery Lane and Beechworth Bakery.
Greenlighting Anyone But You with Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as its leads must've been among Hollywood's easiest decisions. One of the rom-com's stars has been everywhere from Euphoria and The White Lotus to Reality of late, plus Sharp Objects and The Handmaid's Tale before that, and has a stint in the superhero realm on Madame Web to come. The other is fresh off feeling the need for speed in Top Gun: Maverick, including getting sweaty and shirtless in the beach scene. They both drip charisma. If this was the 80s, 90s or 00s, they each would have an entire segment of their filmographies dedicated to breezy romantic comedies like this Sydney-shot film, and probably more than a few together. From here, they might achieve that feat yet — because if there's much ado about anything in Anyone But You, it's about how well its two main talents shine as a pair. Regardless of that gleaming casting, director and co-writer Will Gluck crafts his first adult-oriented flick in 12 years — since Friends with Benefits, with Annie and the two Peter Rabbit movies since — as if it's still two, three or four decades back. The gimmick-fuelled plot, the scenic setting, the swinging between stock-standard and OTT supporting characters: they're all formulaically present and accounted for in Anyone But You. Also eagerly splashed in is the picture's biggest twist, courtesy of its filmmaker and co-scribe Ilana Wolpert (a feature first-timer sporting writing and story-editing credits on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on her resume). With Easy A, Gluck took inspiration from The Scarlet Letter, giving it a modern-day remake. Now, complete with some character names to match (there's no Dogberry, though, but there is a dog), ample matchmaking gossip and lines from the play clumsily dotted around the sets for viewers to see, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing scores the overt riffs. Always apparent as well: the fact that, even as it follows in the Bard of Avon's footsteps, Anyone But You's story constantly comes second to Sweeney and Powell's smouldering chemistry. Plus, most of its obvious jokes only land because the twosome sell them, and the whole movie. Takes on Shakespeare's 16th-century-penned, 17th-century-published rom-com have graced the big screen before. In the past 30 years, see: 1993's with Emma Thompson (What's Love Got to Do with It?) and Kenneth Branagh (A Haunting in Venice) as Beatrice and Benedick, and Branagh directing, and also 2012's with Buffyverse alums Amy Acker (The Watchful Eye) and Alexis Denisof (How I Met Your Father) for Joss Whedon (their guiding hand on Buffy and Angel). But this one is as merry as the day is long about being a playground for Sweeney and Powell first and foremost. Law student Bea (Sweeney) and finance bro Ben (Powell) meet-cute over a restroom key in a busy cafe. She's desperate to use the facilities, the staff won't let her unless she buys something, the line is morning-rush long and he claims that she's his wife to help. So begins a dreamy day of flirting, walking, talking, cooking grilled-cheese sandwiches and connecting over deep secrets like Gluck is fashioning a sped-up version of the Before trilogy, too. That heavenly first date ends badly the next morning, however. More pain is in store when Bea's sister Halle (Hadley Robinson, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) starts dating Ben's best friend Pete's (GaTa, Dave) sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp, Barbie) months later. When an engagement is next, cue Bea and Ben's feud going international at the destination wedding in Australia, then getting a shakeup when the quarrelling duo pretend that they're together. There's kindness in this faux truce, alongside trickery and self-interest. Bea and Ben are trying stop their squabbling ruining the nuptials, yes, but they're attempting to get her parents to back off from campaigning for a reunion with her ex-fiancé Jonathan (Darren Barnet, Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story) at the same time — and to make his own past love Margaret (model-turned-acting debutant Charlee Fraser), Claudia and Pete's Australian cousin, jealous. Anyone But You's protagonists are also well-aware that the rest of the wedding party is conspiring to push them into love, subscribing to the whole "fighting means you like them" theory, and quickly tired of overhearing conversations that they're meant to about each other. Romantic-comedy logic dictates what happens next, of course, as packaged with slapstick gags, literal bathroom humour, sing-alongs, farce everywhere, as much flaunted bare flesh as an Aussie beach, and far more horniness than has been typically seen in 2010s and 2020s cinema. Every expected narrative beat is struck, then. Almost every genre cliche is hit as well. Nodding to other rom-com wedding flicks — My Best Friend's Wedding co-stars Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths play Bea's mum and dad, and the latter is also a Muriel's Wedding alum — is also heartily on the menu. So are fish-out-of-water Americans-in-Australia jokes, and being cheesily Aussie via koalas, endless shots of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House to make both Tourism Australia and Destination NSW proud, and Bryan Brown (Faraway Downs) and Joe Davidson (Neighbours) playing the stereotypical parts. The vision of Sydney that the film inhabits is not only overseas tourist bait, but a one-percenter paradise, as evidenced by the sprawling seaside home of Pete and Claudia's parents (Brown and Star Trek: Picard's Michelle Hurd) that becomes the movie's on-screen base. And yet, as Anyone But You needs and knows with gleeful self-awareness that it's going to get, Sweeney and Powell ace their performances and rapport, and couldn't be more watchable in the process. While no one has a particularly difficult job — least of all cinematographer Danny Ruhlmann (True Spirit), with the film's two stars and a sunny, picturesque locale to lens — it's their lively back and forth and game-for-anything commitment that keeps the picture afloat. For months, this was the feature that sparked headline-grabbing off-screen rumours about life imitating art. Now, it's an audition piece for a second silver-screen team up. Back in the 80s, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn did it (in Swing Shift and Overboard). The 90s had Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks (Joe vs the Volcano, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail), plus Julia Roberts and Richard Gere (Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride), while it was Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey's (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Fool's Gold) turn in the 00s. After Anyone But You, audiences won't want anyone but Sweeney and Powell to be next.
The worst movie ever made. The best worst movie. A film so inexplicably inept that it's somehow enjoyable. From painfully hilarious to laughably excruciating, The Room has earned every reaction imaginable since it first premiered 15 years ago — groans, cheers, spoons thrown at screens and a pitch-perfect behind-the-scenes dramatisation in The Disaster Artist all included. That leaves Best F(r)iends: Volume One with considerable shoes to fill, although what constitutes success for Greg Sestero and Tommy Wiseau's second big-screen collaboration isn't quite the same as other movies. Should the duo's new project serve up another so-bad-it's-good cult flick? A genuine attempt to demonstrate its stars' real talents? Something with enough references to The Room to keep fans interested? Or just a picture that's simply watchable? Prepare to say "oh hi" to a film that won't make you want to hurl cutlery (either ironically or out of annoyance), but won't stick in your mind for much more than the obvious reasons. A dark comedy that garners laughs on purpose this time, Best F(r)iends is a moody and odd exploration of a moody and odd friendship between a drifter and a mortician. Signs about ninjas, a black market in human teeth, a corpse dressed as a clown and a decades-old murder case all feature. So does a fiendish plan to steal an ATM filled with cash, and Wiseau finally telling people where he's from (if you're wondering, the answer is "planet earth"). Dishevelled, down on his luck and wearing a white t-shirt covered in blood, Jon (Sestero) is struggling to get by on the Los Angeles streets. Writing pithy lines on pieces of cardboard to beg for money isn't going well, with only black-clad, lank-locked, platform shoes-wearing undertaker Harvey Lewis (Wiseau) giving him the time of day. More than that, Harvey gives Jon a job at his backstreet morgue, and soon they become business partners. Between moving coffins, preparing bodies and hearing Harvey's strange odes to his dead clientele, Jon discovers that his new pal has a stash of gold dental scrap extracted from the dead — and that it's worth a lot of money. Writing the script as well as starring, Sestero drew upon two real-life elements for Best F(r)iends: Volume One. Firstly, trading in dental gold really happens. Secondly, on a road trip back in 2003, Wiseau thought Sestero was trying to kill him. Both shape the film's plot, although the needlessly convoluted story could use a little more shaping. Originally conceived as one picture but split into two after shooting, Best F(r)iends: Volume One drags out its narrative to set things up for the forthcoming Volume Two. But while it ends on an obvious (yet still intriguing) cliffhanger, much of what comes before spends too long catering to Wiseau's unusual mannerisms and cultivating a bizarre atmosphere. To be fair, making this film without playing up the absurdity of its premise and its star would be unthinkable. Indeed, most of its modest highlights spring from knowing and loving both The Room and The Disaster Artist, rather than from Best F(r)iends itself. That said, throwing in a scene where Jon and Harvey chat while passing a basketball around (sound familiar?) threatens to take things a little too far. If this is your first introduction to Wiseau and Sestero, it'll seem especially weird. But let's be honest, the only people seeing Best F(r)iends are folks who can recite most of The Room's iconic lines in their sleep. Also, let's be clear: Best F(r)iends: Volume One isn't The Room. It nods to the cult hit, leans on it, but knows that it can't recreate its predecessor. That kind of lightning doesn't strike twice and can't be forced — and whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to the individual viewer. With near-newcomer Justin McGregor directing, Best F(r)iends: Volume One is softly shot, montage-heavy and a little too eager to be seen as a mix of Nightcrawler and Mullholland Drive, yet still proves competently made. And if you find yourself actually engaged by Wiseau's stilted performance and his completely unique presence, then the movie definitely achieves something. It won't tear you apart with laughter or leave you wondering how in the hell it got made, but very few films can manage that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTu9N40E_MI
Movies can sometimes stick to a formula. Picture palaces showing them can do the same thing. At Moonlight Cinema, one of Australia's summer staples, that means playing Christmas films in December and romantic classics in February, for instance. Celebrating Oscar contenders in March is also on the itinerary, as the just-dropped last lineup for the event's 2023–24 season locks in. We can't know right now who'll emerge victorious at Hollywood's night of nights on Monday, March 11 Australian time, but plenty of nominees are showing throughout the month. Whether you're team Oppenheimer or Barbie, they're both on the program. So are Poor Things, The Holdovers and Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. Perth gets Maestro, too, while Sydney and Melbourne can get drawn into the compelling drama of Palme d'Or-winner Anatomy of a Fall. While Moonlight Cinema hits up five locations each year, it winds up in Brisbane and Adelaide in February, hence the March bill is only playing in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The details vary per city, but each will also enjoy a range of recent big-screen favourites, too, such as the Mean Girls musical, Sydney-shot rom-com Anyone But You and the sweet Timothée Chalamet (Bones and All)-led treat that is Wonka. Matthew Vaughn following up the Kingsman movies with new spy caper Argylle, Kingsley Ben-Adir (Secret Invasion) playing a reggae icon in Bob Marley: One Love and wrestling drama The Iron Claw will also get a whirl. For some retro fun, The Goonies, The Princess Bride and the OG Mean Girls are on the lineup as well. And, of course, the movies are just one part of the Moonlight Cinema experience. The setting — at Centennial Parklands in Sydney, Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, and Kings Park and Botanic Garden in Perth — is just as important. Also on offer: an official Aperol spritz bar, which is new for 2023–24. Nosh-wise, the event lets you BYO movie snacks and drinks, but the unorganised can enjoy a plethora of bites to eat onsite while reclining on bean beds. There's also a VIP section for an extra-luxe openair movie experience, plus a platinum section that levels up a night at the movies even further in Sydney and Melbourne. A beauty cart is handing out samples, too. And, dogs are welcome at all sites except Perth — there's even special doggo bean beds, and a snack menu for pooches. Moonlight Cinema 2023–24 Dates: Sydney: until Sunday, March 24, 2024 in Centennial Parklands Perth: until Sunday, March 24, 2024 in Kings Park and Botanic Garden Melbourne: until Saturday, March 30, 2024 in Royal Botanic Gardens Moonlight Cinema runs through until March 2024 in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, with dates varying per city. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the cinema's website.
The Hills Are Alive music festival has today revealed their 2015 lineup, featuring a gaggle of Australian acts headlined by Melbourne-based hip-hop artist Remi. Seven years young, the 2015 edition will also mark the first time the event has spilled over into a second evening, with festival organisers promising "twice as many good vibes." Hosted at the McLaren family farm an hour and a half out of Melbourne, THAA 2015 will feature Canberra electronic group SAFIA, Tassie punk-rockers Luca Brasi, Melbourne folk-duo Pierce Brothers, Adelaide singer-songwriter Timberwolf, triple j 2012 Unearthed High winner Asta, NZ country music crooner Marlon Williams, plus a whole lot more. Despite their 2015 expansion, The Hills Are Alive remains a small festival by design, offering an antidote to the massive crowds that often characterise these kinds of events. With a capacity of just 2000 people, tickets are by invitation only, meaning you need to either be friends with one of the acts or know somebody who's been before. Attendees are encouraged to carpool to keep their impact on the environment to a minimum, while glass and pets are prohibited on account of the cows with whom you'll be sharing the campsite. The Hills Are Alive 2015 kicks off at The Farm at 3pm Friday March 27 and runs until 4pm Sunday March 29. For more information on the line-up, head to the festival website.
Before Stranger Things returns for its fifth and final season sometime in 2025, Finn Wolfhard has some slasher things to deal with. Movie lovers in Sydney can see how that pans out at Fantastic Film Festival Australia's 2025 run. With Hell of a Summer, the actor also turns co-director and co-writer with his Ghostbusters: Afterlife, When You Finish Saving the World and Saturday Night co-star Billy Bryk, with the pair giving the summer-camp masked-killer horror subgenre their own spin. Helping out on-screen: Gladiator II and The White Lotus' Fred Hechinger, plus Reservation Dogs' D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai. That's how Fantastic Film Festival Australia is opening this year, with a meta horror-comedy. From there, this celebration of boundary-pushing pictures has 26 more features on its lineup, 16 of the rest brand-new and then ten others must-see classics. Melburnians can get their fix at Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn across Thursday, April 24–Thursday, May 15, plus at Thornbury Picture House from Tuesday, April 29–Monday, May 5. If you haven't been to FFFA before, the event is marking its fifth iteration in 2025 — and one of its hallmarks, the nude screening, is back for the occasion. Get ready to say "yeah, baby" to watching a movie sans clothes, with Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery this year's flick to watch while wearing nix (following on from past sessions of nudist camp-set comedy Patrick, The Full Monty, Zoolander and The Naked Gun). Another highlight of 2025's program: the retrospective dedicated to Scottish writer/director Lynne Ramsay. Her filmography might only span four features since 1999, all of which are showing at FFFA, but it's a resume that any fellow helmer should envy. For audiences, getting the chance to see Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar, We Need to Talk About Kevin and You Were Never Really Here on the big screen — whether for the first time or as a revisit — is a cinephile's dream. Among the fest's new fare, The Second Act hits the lineup after opening the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, with Rubber and Deerskin's Quentin Dupieux enlisting Léa Seydoux (Dune: Part Two), Louis Garrel (Saint-Exupéry) and Vincent Lindon (The Quiet Son) for his latest absurdist satire. Or, catch Tár's Noémie Merlant in The Balconettes, which she co-wrote with her Portrait of a Lady on Fire director Céline Sciamma; see what happens when The Wild Boys and After Blue's Bertrand Mandico combines two film essays in one split-screen presentation in Dragon Dilatation; and head back to 1999 while journeying into teen antics 3000 light years away in Escape From the 21st Century. Viewers can get a dose of eerie puppetry via Monkey's Magic Merry Go Round, too, then watch Crispin Glover (Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities) as a magician in Mr. K and undergo a unique animated musical-comedy experience with Spermageddon. Back with FFFA's 2025 blasts from the past, John Woo's (The Killer) gun-fu great Hard Boiled is the festival's closing-night pick, including screening in 35mm in Sydney. If you're keen on a movie marathon, Umbrella-Palooza will get you watching three films about technological nightmares, all courtesy of Australian distributor Umbrella Entertainment — starting with 2002's Cypher, then heading back to 1990's vision of cyberpunk in Hardware, before the OG Japanese Pulse unleashes its presence. Supporting homegrown efforts, the fest has 1977 psychological thriller Summerfield among its retro component, alongside four newcomers: the Super 8-shot A Grand Mockery; the Pedro Almodóvar (The Room Next Door)-inspired Salt Along the Tongue; Pure Scum, which is set amid Melbourne's private-school culture; and Sword of Silence, as shot completely under a full moon. Aussie talents are also in focus in the Melbourne Shorts screening.
Okay, you've planned a date with your special someone or a potential new flame, but you only have a $50 in your wallet. You can't go over budget — you're trying this new thing called 'being an adult and paying rent on time' — but you do want to foot the bill and seem generous, tasteful and fun. Fear not, Melbourne has many amazing date options that will make you appear to be discerning, cultured and very in-the-know. To show that you don't have to spend big to make a big impression, we've pulled together a list of spring date ideas that'll cost you just a pineapple or less, while our friends at CommBank have rounded up some top tips for living 'money smart' while you're dating or coupled up. That $50 can go a long way if you know how to spend it. So, plan one of the below and stick to your budget — your landlord will thank you for it. Split the bill easily on your next date in under a minute using a PayID (which uses the Osko payment service). Find out more here. CREATE AN EPICUREAN PICNIC Pack a picnic rug and head to Carlton, the land of culinary delights. Just off Lygon Street, you'll find Market Lane — a hole-in-the-wall iteration of the restaurant chain that serves extraordinary coffee. Order two cups of joe, then duck next door to Baker D. Chirico; it's an overwhelming experience — the smells, the treats, the stunning interior design — but keep calm and order some goodies. We recommend the almond croissants, cheese scones, bombolone and prosciutto ficelle. If you're feeling a little cheeky and have some leftover change, head around the corner to Brunetti and grab a few eclairs to complement your spread. Once your arms are laden with treats, head towards Carlton Gardens and find a nice shady patch to lay your blanket, spread out your treats and let the magic happen. [caption id="attachment_622464" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brook James.[/caption] SEE A MOVIE AT THE COBURG DRIVE-IN Nestled out in Coburg, there's a retro relic from times gone by. No, it's not a Blockbuster video shop (RIP), it's a drive-in movie theatre. Load up your car with blankets and head out north for a nice old-fashioned date night. The Coburg Drive-In occasionally shows foreign films, but the main output is blockbuster new releases, shown on a 33-metre screen. In this setting, a slapstick comedy is perfectly acceptable as it gives you a chance to chat and show off your commentary skills. Actually, Johnny English Strikes Again is surprisingly funny and a 33-metre-tall Mr Bean is sure to impress your date —or at least make 'em giggle. Two tickets will set you back $39 — make sure you book ahead of time to avoid looking silly in front of your date — which leaves just enough change for popcorn and ice cream. INDULGE THE KIDULT IN YOU AT SCIENCEWORKS If an afternoon spent at Scienceworks was your idea of heaven as a kid, why not revisit it as an adult and take a nostalgic trip back in time? Scienceworks in Spotswood is the perfect place for an afternoon of child-like anarchy, learning and wonder. Pack a picnic and head there during the week to avoid the hordes of kids, and make a beeline for the lightning sphere where you can feel like Thor for a hot sec. And, when you come to the 'Are you faster than Cathy Freeman' sprint challenge, let your date win — trust us on this one. Tickets cost $15 each, and we recommend throwing in the planetarium addition for something a bit special — but more so you can show off your cheesy space-themed compliments, "Do you live on Mars? 'Cause you look out of this world". There's also a 16-metre-high dome on which you can watch immersive and spectacular projections. HAVE A PIZZA PARTY FOR TWO Look, we know that all anyone wants on a date is a good pizza — right? So, if you're tired of trying to impress, do away with the over-the-top nonsense and just head to Lazerpig in Collingwood. You'll find the best, juiciest, most flavoursome pizza this side of the Yarra, which'll surely melt away any first date jitters (or any iciness leftover from that mini tiff you had over who took out the bins last). We recommend ordering the holy trinity: a large Italian Stallion, a euro salad and a side of house-made pickles. Or if you simply must get more bang for your buck, suggest a lunch date — between 12–3pm from Monday to Friday, you can grab a large pizza and a beer for only $15. LAZE THE DAY AWAY AT THE HEIDE Make sure the weather is favourable, and head out to the Heide Museum in Bulleen for a day of art, sculpture and lazing in the grass. Depending on your predilections, you have a few options for how to spend your time and money. If you're a fan of the art scene, pack some sandwiches and save your moolah for passes to the show. Grab two tickets at $20 a pop and treat your date to a coffee before you stroll through the museum. If you're more of a lie-in-the-grass-and-eat kinda person, save your dosh for a luxurious picnic and spend the day wandering the grounds. Entry is free and you can roam through the sculpture park at your leisure, so you still get to look like an art buff even if you don't step foot into the gallery. What's even better than paying $50 or less on a date? Getting us to pick up the bill. Enter our comp for a chance to win $250 so you can try every idea on the list. Top image: Heide Museum of Art by Jeremy Weihrauch.
The Lamb Council of Australia (otherwise known as Meat & Livestock Australia/We Love our Lamb) is back on our screens — and this time, it's political. Their 2017 campaign has just launched and, whether you're a lamb fan or not, it's already spreading warm fuzzies across the country. The ad opens on a trio of First Nation peoples picking a spot for a primo beach barbie, but it's not long before the First Fleet and other nations arrive, all by boat (accurate historical fact). While everything's underway, the most recent 'boat people' are seen coming towards the shore, at which point ex-MasterChef contestant Poh Ling Yeow asks, "Aren't we all boat people?" Damn right. It's an inclusive, anti-racism message that's sure to win the lamb lovers and creative agency The Monkeys a spate of awards despite trotting out a few well-worn stereotypes. And although it is an obvious comment on Australia Day — the way we celebrate it and the day we celebrate it on — the ad doesn't actually make any overt references to it. Nonetheless, it's a huge shift away from their regular Australia Day campaign and a move towards something much more inclusive. Plus, it's got a diverse group of Aussie celebrities to help out, including olympian Cathy Freeman, rugby legend Wendell Sailor, cricketer Adam Gilchrist, comedian Rhys Nicholson and, of course, a small cameo from Sam "Sam Sam the lamb man" Kekovich. The result is one ultimate Australian beachside barbie.
A good night's sleep is one of life's pure joys and what better way is there to enhance your new year with a new set of bed sheets or a new mattress. Melbourne-designed Eva Mattress is here to help up your comfort level with its end-of-year Boxing Day sale. Think half-price sheets and hundreds of dollars off mattresses — and that's just the start. For its 13 day sale, running from 10am, Wednesday, December 23 until 10am, Tuesday, January 5, the local Aussie retailer is offering big end-of-year discounts. Expect $150 off its Eva mattress, $40 off the Eva pillow, $50 off Eva hemp linen and $50 off timber bed-frames. The award-winning mattress-in-a-box has been engineered as a hybrid, which means it combines the comfort of memory foam with the support of pocket springs. The memory foam pillow uses activated charcoal to keep you cool and dry throughout the night. The timber bed frame, winner of a 2020 Good Design Award, has been certified by the Forrest Stewardship Council meaning it's made from sustainably sourced timber. If you do spring for the mattress, sheets, pillow or bed frame, they come with a 120-night free trial, so you can be sure they'll help you get a good night sleep before you commit. All mattress orders come with free next-day delivery to metro areas and a 12-year warranty, ensuring you'll be sleeping pretty for years to come. Browse the store and pick up a discount. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
When the weather starts to cool down, the urge to devour big bowls of pasta, warm soups and pot pies usually comes with it. Despite all the blankets and fuzzy slippers in the world, sometimes you just need some carbs — and a few boozy concoctions to wash them down with. And, really, there's nothing like curling up with just the thing you're hankering for. When the heart is calling for a cheesy carbonara or a bespoke negroni, you'd best answer it. To help you out when the cravings strike, we've teamed up with Australia Cocktail Month. The inaugural month-long celebration of Aussie-made cocktails takes place throughout May, so it's just the ticket as winter approaches. Alongside everything from yum cha to countryside fire feasts, it's also one of our six recommended ways to indulge when only cocktails and comfort food will do. [caption id="attachment_644421" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Parker Blain[/caption] HIT UP YOUR LOCAL FOR A SUNDAY ROAST Warm up from the inside out with a hearty Sunday pub roast. Based on the traditional British end-of-weekend meal, the Australian take on the pub roast usually features all the fan favourites (yes, including brussels sprouts) to help chase away the cold weather blues. Think succulent roast meats, crunchy potatoes, juicy vegetables, copious pours of gravy, and a nice glass of red or two on the side. Right across the nation — including in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane — there are plenty of pubs to hit up. Pick your favourite, then spoil your tastebuds with a filling roast lunch or dinner. Is there anything more comforting? [caption id="attachment_755166" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Death and Taxes[/caption] CURL UP WITH A COCKTAIL AT A TOP BAR If you're in the mood for a cocktail, you're going to love Australian Cocktail Month, a month-long celebration of Australian bars and bartenders that starts on Saturday, May 1. Across the event, 72 bars in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide are partnering with local and international alcohol brands to shake and stir up some bespoke cocktails, and to also offer discounts and unique bar experiences. To attend, all you need to do is grab a general admission ticket from the event's website, then head to a participating bar. Show said ticket and you'll be able to sip a $14 cocktail (or a $10 non-alcoholic version) while you're getting comfy. [caption id="attachment_780994" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cassandra Hannagan[/caption] TUCK INTO A YUM CHA FEAST It's pretty universally known that one does not leave yum cha hungry. After all, the meal involves a steady rotation of small portions of dim sum dishes, including steamed, pan-fried and deep-fried options. Think juicy dumplings, prawn har gow, xiaolongbao (steamed soup dumplings), barbecue pork buns and pork ribs — all washed down with piping hot tea. There are plenty of places in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to get your feast on, too. So, forget the cooking and feed your hankering for Cantonese food by heading to your local yum cha house — and indulging until your heart (and tummy) is content. Just make sure not to eat beforehand. [caption id="attachment_779829" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Cassandra Hannagan[/caption] HIBERNATE IN A CINEMA WITH POPCORN AND CHOC TOPS Grabbing a snack at a movie theatre isn't always easy to justify. But when you're nestled in your seat, it's hard to be sorry about the big box of popcorn in your hands. A choc top never goes astray, either, and neither does a bag of Maltesers. Accordingly, to feed that comfort food craving in your belly, grab a mate or date and head to your local cinema. There, you can hibernate in a supremely cosy setting and enjoy a flick with some quality movie theatre bites. Some venues even serve cocktails too, such as Golden Age Cinema and Bar in Sydney, Classic Cinemas in Melbourne and Blue Room Cinebar in Brisbane. THROW A POTLUCK DINNER WITH YOUR MATES Why indulge in comfort food and cocktails all on your own when you can do it as a group activity with your nearest and dearest? The easiest way: get on that group chat and arrange a potluck dinner at yours with your friends. Either get everyone to bring a surprise dish, or arrange for someone to take care of entrees, others to look after mains and the best cooks in the gang to whip up desserts. You could even try out a new recipe or two, and wow your pals with a skill they mightn't have realised you have. And the best part? There are usually leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. COOK A FEAST OVER FIRE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE Fill up your car, pack an overnight bag and hit the road. It's time to escape the hustle and bustle of the city for some fresh country air and camping-style food. Get a fire roaring, then try your hand at some damper, classic s'mores, snags or corn on the cob. You could even give campfire nachos or some camping quesadilla a whirl. There are plenty of country towns to stay at just a hop, skip and jump from main cities, too, including near Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It's a two-for-one deal, really, because you'll indulge in the charm of the countryside and fill your belly at the same time. Australian Cocktail Month is taking over top bars across the Australia from May 1–31. To buy your ticket, and for the full list of participating bars, head to the event's website. Top image: The Duke of Clarence, Kitti Gould
The beautiful Domain House in the Botanic Gardens often plays home to contemporary art exhibitions you'd happily contend with Punt Road traffic to get to — and its new exhibition Border Lines is no different. With Linden New Art calling the house home while their Acland Street space gets a reno, the exhibition brings together a collection of celebrated painters from the Papulankutja and Warakurna art communities, as well as the fibre artists of the Tjanpi Desert Weavers. The exhibition focuses on the artistic foundations of the tri-state border of WA, SA and the NT and explore themes of country, community and culture — it's a reminder of the gravity and importance of indigenous art within Australian (and international) contemporary art. A meet the curator event will also be held with Juliette Hanson on August 24, where she will give a guided tour and talk in detail about the art centres of the tri-state area. Images: Courtesy of Linden New Art, shot by David Marks Photographer.
The country's next big natural wine event is coming to the Sapphire Coast this August — and it'll be anything but ordinary. Nattie by Nature will transform a sprawling heritage estate into a blowout bash with lots of wine, live music, craft spirits, local produce and party vibes aplenty. It's run by Shady Pines' long-time manager Alen Nikolovski, who recently moved down to Merimbula, and his Sapphire Coast mates Ryde Pennefather and Di McDonald. "We all love drinking booze but hate boring tastings, so we decided to put on a tasting event with a party atmosphere," says Nikolovski. "It started out as just a small thing, but has grown to fit 300 people." This army of wine fans will be hosted in South Pambula's Historic Grange, a stunning 1850s heritage estate that extends across 13 acres. The space is owned — and was fitted out — by Jason Scott (formerly of the Swillhouse Group), so expect design elements reminiscent of both Baxter Inn and Shady Pines to accompany the country barn stylings. The Nattie by Nature team has gathered its favourite winemakers from around the country for this one. Drops on offer will include Greek-style wines from Southern Highlands' Ari's Natural Wine Co, small batch vinos from Clunes' Jilly Wines and certified biodynamic bottles from Adelaide Hills' Ngeringa. Plus, the Otway Ranges' Chevre Wines, Geelong's Livewire Wines, Whitlands' Konpira Maru and Canberra's Mallaluka will all host stalls, too. Enmore's P&V Merchants will make its way down south, too, as will boutique distributor Whole Bunch Wines. Apart from all the wines, the event will feature a tinnie bar by Yulli's Brews, a bloody marys stand by Patio Beverages and a gin bar by Sapphire Coast local North Eden Gin — who will also put on a live gin distillation. For eats, both Merimbula and Sydney producers will join the party. You'll be able to snag Pambula oysters from Broadwater, smoked seafood platters from Eden Smokehouse and baked goods from Wild Ryes Bakery, which is creating three pie and wine pairings just for the event. Local cheese gurus Tilba will also team up with LP's Quality Meats for some next-level charcuterie boards. And since it isn't a party without live music, soul and R&B band Immy & The Hookup will take the stage and a vinyl DJ will finish off the night with funky tunes. Located six hours' drive south of Sydney (or a one hour flight) and seven hours north of Melbourne, you'll likely want to make a weekend of it. We recommend Woodbine Park Eco Cabins and Coast Resort Merimbula, or these stunning homes on Airbnb. The inaugural Nattie by Nature will take place on August 3 at the Historic Grange, 15A Northview Drive, South Pambula. It'll run from noon–8pm and there will be a free shuttle bus between Merimbula and Pambula all day long. Tickets are $35.50 a pop and on sale now.
If you're feeling a tad jealous of seeing half the people you know living their European dream holiday (where do these people get the money?), you're in luck. The Europa Night Market is making its much-anticipated to Queen Victoria Market for 2023, brightening up Wednesdays from September 27–October 25. Bellissimo. The market will host a vibrant Euro-style bazaar that will teleport you to a different European destination each week, with food, drinks, entertainment and market stalls to match. Kicking things off on Wednesday, September 27, the market will be saying 'ciao' to the flavours and sounds of Italy, with bites like Sicilian-style fried arancini, woodfired 400 Gradi pizza and homemade panzerotti. Wednesday, October 4 will see the market transform into a little Oktoberfest for Bavarian night. Then, Wednesday, October 11 will be a celebration of all things French with an evening of oozy raclette and decadent traditional French crepes — with your choice of fillings including Nutella and Biscoff. Oh, and keep an eye out for the French mime artists. The Iberian Peninsula gets a look-in on Wednesday, October 18, with paella and Portuguese street food from Portuguese Churrasqueira BBQ complete with entertainment by Spanish and Portuguese flamenco dancers. Wrapping things up on Wednesday, October 25 is a celebration of all things Mediterranean, with melodies of Greek folk songs acting as the perfect soundtrack for sipping a Greek Blue Spritz from Spritz Bar (made from ouzo and spiced rum). Partner that with a souvlaki from Greek Trojan Yiros and the late spring air and you may as well really be on a Greek Island somewhere on the Aegean Sea.
The Sydney Film Festival wrapped up on Sunday, June 15, after a perfectly eye-opening 12-day movie marathon. Here's what our critics loved, loathed, admired and squirmed over. The Best Films https://youtube.com/watch?v=baJK7EhCTEI BLACK COAL, THIN ICE Black Coal, Thin Ice is an exceptionally rare film in which not a single frame feels wasted. A run-down industrial city in China's frozen north provides a perfect backdrop for writer-director Diao Yinan's archetypal film noir, about an alcoholic former cop obsessed by a dead-end case. Slow pacing and minimal narrative exposition rewards an attentive viewer, but the true appeal of this ice-cold thriller is Jinsong Dong's immaculate cinematography. Although rarely flashy, every shot is invested with both an eerie beauty and a fascinating purpose, while simple images often take on new meaning as the camera patiently lingers. You'll be lucky to find a better made film this year. https://youtube.com/watch?v=06BNjqSsGqo TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT Riveting dissections of realistic situations: that's where siblings Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have made their careers. Continuing in the same finessed vein, Two Days, One Night compels by rendering relatable, repetitive circumstances without sentiment but with surprises, following Sandra's (Marion Cotillard) attempts to convince her co-workers to forgo a cash bonus to save her job. The precision with which the filmmakers present a feature almost solely comprised of conversations cannot be underestimated, nor can Cotillard's expert efforts in illustrating the fragility of her striving but uncertain protagonist. Small in stature yet striking in its statement, this is a rare and rewarding example of the best film of the festival emerging victorious as the competition winner. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ISaSHUSrEUw BOYHOOD We usually give a film props for being either wildly experimental or successful in what it does. So to watch Boyhood, a film that's both of those things (as well as hugely entertaining), is almost overwhelming. The applause once the credits started to roll was instant and resounding, and it's surely poised to take out the Audience Award. The film's point of difference is that it was filmed over 12 years, using the same cast of actors, including Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette. Its focus is Mason (Ellar Coltrane) as he grows from 5 to 18, capturing his coming of age in a way that's ultra authentic and driven by the cast and creatives' real experience of the world. The effect is to transport you back to childhood and adolescence without your attendant judgement or cynicism, and it's a wonderful little gift. If you thought director Richard Linklater had already made his biggest impact on the film world through Before Sunrise or rotoscoping, think again. https://youtube.com/watch?v=rIEf5T3U2YA YOU'RE SLEEPING NICOLE Many films spring to mind during French Canadian comedy You're Sleeping Nicole, including Frances Ha's quirky quarter-life crisis, Ghost World's vagaries of female friendship, and After Hours' freewheeling overnight anarchy; however, Stéphane Lafleur's direct-from-Cannes offering never suffers for the comparisons. Charting its 22-year-old titular character (Julianne Côté) as she navigates the summer sans parents and struggling to sleep, it crafts a love letter to its influences and an endearing effort in its own right. There's slightness in its concept and skit-like construction, but also a sweet mood and amusing tone in its vignettes of mostly ordinary, sometimes eccentric escapades. The exquisite black-and-white cinematography draws the eye just as the eclectic gags charm the soul, in the epitome of an offbeat delight. https://youtube.com/watch?v=KinAEqb3Kts TOM AT THE FARM Xavier Dolan's Cannes Jury Prize-winning Mommy rightly overwhelmed audiences with its onslaught of aesthetics and emotions; however, it is Tom at the Farm, his previous feature, which stuns with its several layers of sheer audacity. Ostensibly the odd film out in the wunderkind writer/director's oeuvre, his fourth effort in as many years is a tense and twisty thriller of grief, desire, acceptance and identity. Playing Tom, Dolan nourishes on screen (as with off), conveying the claustrophobia and complexity of the character's rural trip to pay respects to the family of his deceased boyfriend. When awkwardness begets a strange accord within visually and thematically constrained confines, so blossoms an elegantly disarming offering that earns its Hitchcockian parallels. https://youtube.com/watch?v=TyvfQIdx_Ao WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS The perfect antidote to a program full of worthy social dramas and three-hour-long Palme d'Or winners, Sydney's closing night film was an unmistakable highlight. Flight of the Conchords star Jemaine Clement and Eagle vs Shark director Taika Waititi write, direct and star in what's billed as the latest project from the New Zealand Documentary Board: an in-depth look at the lives of four vampires who share a run-down apartment in Wellington. Think This Is Spinal Tap but with more severed arteries. Clement and Waititi have enormous fun playing with undead mythology (for example, their characters can't get into clubs unless they're specifically invited in.) Keep your eyes peeled for a release before the year is out. https://youtube.com/watch?v=K1nEmIZtrFU PARTICLE FEVER This is the film that makes physics funny and personable. Particle Fever went behind the biggest, most expensive and most controversial scientific experiment ever conducted — the Large Hadron Collider, which recreates the conditions of the 'big bang' in an effort to view the basic particles needed for a stable universe and create a blueprint for modern physics. But what it really showed us was the Mensa-style odd-bods working on the LHC — funny, yearning, obsessive individuals who make coffee, play ping-pong, decipher unintelligible contemporary art and carry regrets just like all of us. Particle Fever meets the universe's biggest questions with simple, elegant, beautiful answers, or the prospect of total, inexplicable chaos. Who would've known that documentaries can provide such childlike escapism. Miracles and wonder. The Boldest Experiments https://youtube.com/watch?v=gZscgKNT2MI FISH AND CAT A two-hour film, made in one take? A film with no editing? Once again, Iranian cinema showed us that it's at the forefront of global filmmaking. Fish and Cat went beyond what could be a gimmick to deliver one of the most compelling experiences of the festival and divide audiences (including our little reviewing team). The film portrayed a collection of professional kite-flyers embarking on a camping trip by a wintery lake and spindly forest, a series of ghostly presences, and a cyclical narrative that plays with time by showing us the same moments from different characters' perspectives. Often high concept films elevate tricky narrative ploys, but Fish and Cat went beyond cleverness to show us something honest and true. Rehearsed for two months and shot in only one take — and inspired as much by mathematics, MC Escher and physics than by cinema — Fish and Cat suggests more films need less editing and more spirit and intelligence. https://youtube.com/watch?v=TgsfyMMYAZI MANAKAMANA A cable car traverses the lush greenery of the Nepalese mountains, ferrying its contents to and from the Manakamana Temple. Each load of passengers contains pilgrims seeking the wish-fulfilling gifts of the temple's Hindu goddess — and while diverse in their constitution, they remain united in their journey. Filmed in 16mm and comprised of 11 rides towards and away from the famous destination, the documentary that shares its name continues the immersive observational ambit of Harvard University's Sensory Ethnography Lab, as previously evidenced in 2009's Sweetgrass and 2012's Leviathan. Each segment, shown uncut and spanning approximately ten minutes in duration, stands alone as couples sit in silence, friends chatter about music and play with a kitten, and even goats enjoy the aerial view, yet together they make a hypnotic and rhythmic whole. MOMMY The latest film from 25-year-old enfant terrible Xavier Dolan pours unconstrained emotion into a claustrophobic space. Shot in boxy 1:1 aspect ratio, the film tells the story of fiery widow Dianne and her troubled teenager Simon, a pair of bombastic outsiders in a white-bread, buttoned-down world. Anne Dorval and Antoine Olivier Pilon are both stunningly good, their performances positively glowing with uninhibited feeling. The tightness of the frame, meanwhile, reflects Di and Simon's limited options, even as their energy threatens to force the edges apart. This is a funny, earnest, devastating film, one that's vitalised, rather than limited, by its intriguing technical conceit. https://youtube.com/watch?v=a8vy-DO-I5E 20,000 DAYS ON EARTH 20,000 Days on Earth is a documentary that's fiction. So, there's that. It imagines the 20,000th day on earth of singer and raconteur Nick Cave, and it's a day that includes him talking to his shrink, recording an album, helping archivists make sense of his historical record, lunching with his pals, driving Kylie Minogue around Brighton, and playing at the Sydney Opera House. A pretty great day, by any standards. Instead of clarity and chronology, what you get is a fragmented sense of biography that is sometimes deeply insightful, sometimes electrifying and sometimes frustrating. Artists-turned-directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard have basically conjured a new format here, and there's a sense that it could be applied to tell nearly anybody's personal tale (though having the flair and flamboyance of Cave certainly helps). It's not like anyone would want every documentary to be made this way, but it sure is an interesting divergence. Most WTF Moments https://youtube.com/watch?v=9gahZEIg73I Miss Violence Greek cinema has been pretty weird lately, but no one in the cinema for Alexandros Avranas Miss Violence was quite expecting it to take the turn it did. And that's even after it started with an 11-year-old girl committing suicide at her birthday party to the soundtrack of Leonard Cohen's 'Dance Me to the End of Love'. Things got repulsive around the time of the graphic, several-minute-long teen rape scene, and they did not improve. No matter your stance on the use of trigger warnings, you'd probably feel this could have been signposted a little better in the synopsis. On Tuesday this played directly after Ruin, so the truly unlucky copped a double feature of confronting sexual violence akin to watching Irreversible twice. https://youtube.com/watch?v=lHLLMaJ27SQ LAKE AUGUST We were hoping Lake August would provide us with the kind of telescopic view of China that Westerners rarely glean. It didn't. A series of extremely long takes of characters whose names and backgrounds, desires and regrets were never revealed, left us cold and, well, a little bored. Fans of slow-burn, long-unrolling cinema will go for this, and festival curators will love the offbeat perspective this offers us — there are so many kaleidoscopic ways to understand and access the non-monolith that is China. We appreciate a tiny chip in the blockbuster schedule of sequels and comic-book franchises, but Lake August was too oblique, too distant and like China, too inexplicable. Most disappointing films https://youtube.com/watch?v=vFnmRNMBL4I COLD IN JULY Although it certainly has its defenders, few films on the festival program were as cringingly uneven as Jim Mickle's Cold in July. Set in Texas in the late 1980s, the film stars Dexter himself, Michael C. Hall, as a mild-mannered family man who shoots a home intruder. But what starts as an exploration of guilt soon takes a bizarre-left turn into John Carpenter-style slasher territory, before shifting again into pulpy film noir and then again into vengeful vigilante thriller. Good on Mickle for attempt to skew genres, but the tone is all over the map. Moreover, the character dynamics are flimsy, while certain dramatic scenes are pitched to such histrionic heights that they end up being unintentionally entertaining. https://youtube.com/watch?v=t3ofy3B90gI RUIN Amiel Courtin-Wilson's previous film Hail was an unforgettable story of down-and-out Australians whose voices are rarely heard in cinema. So Ruin, co-directed with Michael Cody, arrived with more than a little cinephile hype. It was an interesting film. But was it a successful one? Not so much. Set in Cambodia, and portraying a romance of two abused and terrified runaways, Ruin did a beautiful job of mixing a sense of observational documentary with lovely abstract, textural sequences, and it pivoted on two extraordinary, hyper-naturalistic performances.The dream fantasies were beautiful, emotionally complex and visually stunning. But it was right on the line between an open-ended film and an underbaked one. It's good to see challenging cinema that doesn't spoon-feed audiences exposition. But more answers and more context to match the gorgeous cinematography and dreaminess would have gone a long way. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ChM2icbWo9w The Rover A dark Shakespearean crime drama, 2010's Animal Kingdom was one of the most resounding Australian films in years. Not only did it launch the international careers of Ben Mendelsohn and Jacki Weaver, it also heralded the arrival of writer-director David Michôd, a filmmaker whose tightly controlled aesthetic suggested even greater things to come. His sophomore effort is The Rover, a barebones narrative that mirrors his debut in both its technical precision and its nihilistic tone. What's missing, however, is a similarly compelling set of characters. Without them, a pervasive sense of bleakness soon swallows the movie whole. Full review here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=4_8nOSuRFE4 Palo Alto Um, yuck. It may have sold out three screenings over, but Palo Alto was one long, empty cliche about coming of age. It goes to show we can't assume James Franco can write with depth just because he can act, and we can't assume that Gia Coppola can direct with expertise just because her family can. It makes an ass of u and me. By Rima Sabina Aouf, Lauren Carroll Harris, Sarah Ward and Tom Clift.
It already takes the crown as Australia's biggest shopping centre, and ranks amongst the largest in the world, too. But Chadstone isn't stopping with the upgrades anytime soon. After adding a luxury hotel and a couple of new restaurants to its grounds in 2019, and enjoying plenty of upgrades in recent years, the centre today unveiled plans for its latest addition — a new entertainment and dining precinct dubbed The Social Quarter. Clocking in at over 10,350 square metres and a cool $71 million, the project is set to feature 18 new food and entertainment 'experiences', with a focus on al fresco dining. Designed for all seasons and occasions, it's gearing up to open its doors this summer. On the food side of things, you'll find new outposts from six different hospitality retailers, including New Zealand-born Asian-fusion restaurant White + Wong's and its sibling Sardine Bar, Italian eatery Cinque Terre and Melbourne's much-loved Piccolina Gelateria. The crew from South Melbourne's Half Acre is opening an all-day Euro diner called Cityfields. And there'll be a new venue from Urban Alley Brewing Co (also Docklands and Knox), complete with its own onsite brewery creating craft beer exclusively for The Social Quarter. When it comes to playtime, punters of all ages will be spoilt for choice with venues from Archie Brothers Cirque Electrique, Strike Bowling and Holey Moley, alongside a new iteration of Hijinx Hotel — Funlab's vibrant 'challenge room hotel' concept, which debuted in Sydney in winter. They'll complement Chadstone's existing Legoland Discovery Centre and Hoyts cinema complex. [caption id="attachment_868118" align="alignnone" width="1920"] White + Wong's[/caption] The Social Quarter is also set to show off some sleek design work, helmed by renowned architects Jackson Clements Burrows, along with Buchan, Decibel and Lat Studios. It's aiming for a 5 Star Green Star rating, will feature an art-covered facade with works by artist Matthew Johnson, and boast a cutting-edge louvred glass roof design made up of 468 individually glazed pieces. The precinct will also showcase views across to the CBD from its restaurant spaces. [caption id="attachment_868117" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Urban Alley[/caption] [caption id="attachment_868111" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bar Sardine[/caption] Find The Social Quarter at Chadstone Shopping Centre, 1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone, Victoria, from a yet-to-be-confirmed date this summer.
It's been a big, chaotic year here in Melbourne — and that calls for one heck of a send-off. Whether you're eager to see the back of 2021 with a few champagnes in hand, or looking to set a cheerier tone for 2022 by bouncing into it with DJ tunes and a good ol' d-floor session, a slew of Melbourne bars, pubs and restaurants are happy to help. From fancy dinners and cocktail soirees to dance parties and rooftop shindigs, we've scouted out a big bunch of New Year's Eve events you can add to your calendar right now. Some are ticketed, some are free — all promise to have you marching out the year that was in style. Round up the crew and lock in one of these New Year's Eve happenings now. CENTRAL [caption id="attachment_787570" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nick & Nora's by Brook James[/caption] Arbory Bar & Eatery: A glam Versace-inspired shindig with DJs, free-flowing drinks and canapes. Book here. Whitehart: A free laneway party with sounds from Afrodisiac, Claddy and more. Panda Hot Pot: Open as usual for your New Year's Eve hot pot feasting. Nick & Nora's: A ritzy masquerade ball with Dom Perignon, caviar and canapes, plus a cheeky bar tab to spend throughout the night. Book one of two packages here. Robata: Enjoy tunes from DJ Kazuma Onishi while tucking into a set menu of Robata favourites. Book one of two sittings here. Chancery Lane: This chic New Year's Eve dinner will see you indulging in seafood hors d'oeuvres, wagyu sirloin and more, across four or five courses. Book one of two sittings here. Dom's Social Club: A rooftop do starring free-flowing magnums, lots of other quality sips and DJ sets, to enjoy while soaking up a primo view of the fireworks. Book here. NORTH [caption id="attachment_645872" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Welcome to Thornbury[/caption] Welcome to Thornbury: Trip back to 1999 at this Millennium-themed party, featuring food trucks, bottomless booze, old-school DJ tunes and two different package options. Book here. Moon Dog World: A free-entry brewery party with plenty of tap beers and seltzer, plus dance-friendly tunes from Airwolf Paradise, Hip Hop Hoe and more. RSVP here. New Guernica: This beloved club is putting its new Smith Street home through its paces, with a huge New Year's Eve party. It'll feature a solid lineup of DJs playing across two rooms, plus roving entertainment and champagne at midnight. Nab tickets here. The Provincial: While its rooftop party is sold out, this Fitzroy pub's still got passes available for its ground floor and level one NYE celebrations, featuring DJs and pumping dance floors from an easy $25. Book here. The Everleigh: This lavish masked soiree will star a special one-night-only menu of signature cocktails, plus chic snacks and plenty of champagne. Dig out your finest black-and-white threads and book here. Welcome to Brunswick: Relax into the new year at this cruisy beer garden bash, complete with barbecue eats, backyard games and bottomless beers. Book one of two packages here. SOUTH [caption id="attachment_764366" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Firebird, by Parker Blain[/caption] Matilda: A decadent four- or five-course feast filled with both signature and special-edition dishes. Book one of two sittings here. Bang Bang: A rollicking New Year's do complete with roving entertainment, DJs, menu favourites from the kitchen, and an hour of power dedicated to espresso martinis. Book here. Firebird: A five-course, fire-licked mod-Asian feast, with bubbly on arrival. Book here for one of two sittings. The Emerson: This rollicking rooftop party will see you sending out the year with four hours of drinks, entertainment all night long and bubbly at midnight. Book here. Pawn & Co: Farewell 2021 while ripping up the dance floor to sounds from the likes of TBIB, Gaz Kempster and Sarlece. Book here. EAST [caption id="attachment_717781" align="alignnone" width="1440"] Moon Dog OG[/caption] Fargo & Co: A buzzing NYE house party starring five hours of free-flowing drinks, roving canapes and entertainment, with a VIP option also on offer. Book here. Starting early? The venue's also hosting a special bottomless brunch, at 12pm and 3pm. Waygood: A generously-packed evening of good times, where you can look forward to a soundtrack of party hits, a menu full of Euro-inspired favourites and spritzes aplenty. Pop by for casual afternoon drinks or book the main event here. Moon Dog OG: This free brewery shindig is set to feature a bunch of beer, seltzer and cocktail specials, to enjoy while you're belting out the karaoke tunes. Book here. The Corner: A shimmering NYE rooftop party with DJs playing through the night, roving canapes and a four-hour drinks package. Plus, prizes for the best dressed punters. Book here. WEST [caption id="attachment_797549" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Holmes Hall, by Parker Blain[/caption] Mr West: Spend the night sampling top-notch fizz at this pet-nat party, featuring a huge range of vino, pizza specials and a variety of sipping packages. Book here. Holmes Hall: A free party starring all the usual tap brews and house cocktails, along with an all-night menu and sounds by DJ Ashley Smyth. Book here or walk in. Top Image: Whitehart
For every great story there exists, somewhere, a pornographic adaptation of it. However, it is rare for the adaptation process to go the other way and for pornography to be turned into art. This is just one of the things that makes The Rabble's Story of O such a remarkable work. As a choice for source material, 1950s French titillater Histoire d’O is certainly an outré choice. The novel tells the story of a beautiful Parisienne who is induced by her lover to become a sex slave for a bondage club, who operate as a kind of secret society in a country chateau. The slide into depravity is framed as a romance — the heroine, known only as O, consents willingly to all manner of indignities, driven by the desire to please her lover — and the book was doubly scandalous because the author was a woman. The Rabble’s interpretation is not so much a straight telling of the story as an evocation of its mood and an exploration of the broader social issues it raises. And what issues, with a questioning eye turned to the meanings of eroticism, power, free will and identity. As a piece of theatre, it’s a scorcher. The cast, a striking assemblage from the moment they appear posing louchely on carousel horses, deliver powerhouse performances, with Mary Helen Sassman giving raw intensity to the role of O. With a script incorporating snippets from De Sade and symbolist poet Renée Vivien, as well as ideas from essayist Susan Sontag, it is a far more artful text than the notoriously clunkily written original. The intellectualisation of its subject matter is openly and powerfully expressed at the same time as the show virtually redefines viscerality in its ingenious theatrical depictions of graphic sex. The gender blurring of some key roles — most notably Sir Stephen, the master of the sadomasochistic circle, being played by a woman (Jane Montgomery Griffiths, who delivers the role with a double serving of panache) — enables power to be examined as a symbolic entity, potentially if not entirely free of the scenario’s patriarchal overtones. Sex is by turns shown as garishly carnivalian, coldly clinical or, at times, downright harrowing. It makes for frequently confronting viewing but far from being relentless, the play is expertly timed, shock points spaced among moments of gentleness and humour. It is as if the play itself acts as dominus to the audience, with a fire and ice approach, alternating warmth and brutality, each heightening the other, dragging you ever deeper under its influence. Some may find it too shocking and I did see one walk out. It was telling though that half way through the act of leaving, the departing lady paused, transfixed by a development on stage, her decision to go made but the power of the piece not releasing her. I couldn’t have looked away for a second. Story of O is theatre that absolutely commands attention.
Any plans for Bali escapes, treks across Mexico or food-filled Japanese getaways have been put on ice for 2020, but that doesn't mean you can't indulge in a bit of escapism. And, no, we're not just talking about daydreaming and spending hours scrolling through Pinterest. Australian Venue Co is helping to ease the wanderlust a touch by transforming more than 20 of its pubs and restaurants into some of the world's most popular holiday destinations for summer. So, you'll be able to sip frozen margaritas surrounded by cacti, eat dumplings under cherry blossom trees and wear flower crowns (if that's your thing) on Coachella-inspired rooftops. Called Summer Staycations, the transformations will be taking place from November to February at the likes of the The Provincial Hotel and The Smith in Melbourne, Manly Wine and Bungalow 8 in Sydney, and Kingsleys and Riverland in Brisbane. Of course, the visual makeovers — which will include giant teepees, citrus trees and flowers aplenty — will be paired with appropriate food and drink menus. On the Amalfi Coast, you'll find bottomless pizza and sorbet spritzes; in Mexico, there are unlimited tacos and many margaritas; and in Bali, you'll find brunch and many frozen cocktails. For a taster of what to expect, look to The Rook. The Sydney rooftop has been filled with cherry blossoms and bottomless dumplings since March — but, come November, it'll become an Italian summer haven. More information about the staycations is set to drop on Monday, October 19, with pop-ups set to go live on Friday, November 2 in all states but Victoria. Melbourne's will kick off — restrictions allowing — in December. [caption id="attachment_785121" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jasper Avenue[/caption] SUMMER STAYCATION LINEUP Amalfi Coast Prince Alfred, Vic Provincial, Vic The Rook, NSW Kingsleys, Qld Payneham Tavern, SA Spring in Tokyo The Smith, Vic The Duke, Vic Manly Wine, NSW Fridays, Qld Sweetwater Rooftop, WA Mexico Fiesta College Lawn, Vic Perseverance, Vic Riverland, Qld Cleveland Sands, Qld Waterloo Station, SA Coachella, Palm Springs Fargo and Co, Vic Cargo Bar, NSW The Aviary, WA Hope Inn, SA Beach Club, Bali Bungalow 8, NSW The Globe, WA For more information about Australian Venue Co Summer Staycations, head to the website. Top image: The Rook by Jasper Avenue
A couple of weeks ago I awoke to find my bike with two flat tyres, one pedal snapped off and a wheel bent so far out of shape that it would no longer rotate. Like The Hangover I had no memory of the night before, only the foggy recollection of a decision to ride to the nearest house party. The ensuing days saw me scramble around the city trying to find the best deals possible to repair my poor ride, with the resulting list of the best and brightest of the local cycle scene the one beacon of hope to come out of my negligent behaviour. Melbourne is one of the road's most ridable cities and the cycling scene is now at the point where it's difficult not to find a bike shop within 20 metres of wherever you break down. But if proximity isn't a factor, how do you choose? Well, it depends what you're after. Budget, time-frame, professionalism — what do you value? Somewhere in this vast, fantastically flat city of ours there lurks a store that will be just right. 1.Bicycle Recycle, Moorabbin If you need a solid ride at a flexible price, second-hand is the way to go. Buying old bikes off Gumtree can seem like a good way to keep your pockets from getting too empty, but when you cop a roadie for $70 off a dude on Brunswick St you're begging for your chain to snap mid-pedal and a tasty mouthful of gravel — I speak from experience. Instead, hit up these guys down in the south (it's worth the trip if you're a north sider) whose used bikes are fully serviced and guaranteed to keep your face out of the gutter for a really good price. The best road bike owned by any of my friends came from here and was far cheaper than I'd ever thought feasible. They've got new bikes too — over 300 of them — if you want to shell out for that shiny paint job. 2.Pedal Cyclery, Coburg A truly boutique store, this one-room shack nestled in an otherwise totally business-devoid strip in Coburg is the most personal and intimate bike repair experience you'll have in Melbourne, guaranteed. This one-man-show is owned by Chris, an affable bloke who'll build you a beautiful bike from scratch if you want that truly unique ride — check out their ridiculously well-designed website for a plethora of beautiful examples. Though these custom rides will run you a few bucks, Chris' repairs/parts prices are extremely reasonable and outdo many of the superstores. The biggest bonus is that he's the kind of guy who'll show you how to change your own tyres, because he's just that cool. Drop in for a chat and learn a whole bunch about your bike. 3. Reid Cycles, Melbourne Everyone seems to be riding a Reid bike these days. I do. They're just so damn cheap. The Aldi of bike stores, the bikes at Reid's are all home-brand and cheap as chips, whilst the service is quick and efficient. The most affordable new bikes in town come with predictable pitfalls — these aren't the kind of rides that will last a lifetime. But if you want something new that will get you from A to B at a decent clip (plus free servicing) you won't find anything cheaper than this home-grown establishment. 4. Cecil Walker, Melbourne/Fitzroy Somewhere in between the tiny boutique and the conveyor-belt superstore lies this quirky shop. Adopting an attitude of artisanship, this place prides itself on customer service, promising the highest quality of repairs and etiquette, as well as an online store that will never frustrate by being out of stock or jerking you around on price. They've even got their own sock range, showing serious attention to detail! 5. Samson Cycles, Brunswick This place's claim to fame is that they have longest opening hours of any bike shop in Australia. From 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, owner/mechanic Ryan knock out repairs at highly competitive prices. Throw in private one-on-one classes after closing time and the occasional after-hours service and you have a picture of possibly the hardest working bike mechanic in the Southern Hemisphere. Being small, in Brunswick and of high reputation, these guys can get a little swamped and take an extra day or two to turn out your repair, but the friendly faces and maximum affordability make it worth it for locals. They also stock super kawaii baby balance bikes, as above. 6. Avanti Plus, Collingwood/Preston/Croydon/Fitzroy/Brunswick and more If Reid is Aldi, Avanti is Woolworths. A chain of independent stores, each individually owned, this is really your one stop shop for any kind of bike or accessory. Featuring a huge range of products supplemented by a crazy big online section, this cycling juggernaut will definitely get it done for you. If your repair-guy giving you not much more attention than the checkout staff at your local supermarket bothers you, this probably isn't the place for you, but if you're after an in-and-out, comprehensive service/repair/purchase then Avanti is boss. 7. Brighton Cycles, Brighton They mean business. Seriously. The bikes here are terrifying. This is the kind of bike shop that literally sells Cadel Evans' ride. If you're a cycling nut — I mean the kind of nut who only gets through the working week by thinking about how much closer you'll be to buying that new bike — this is your joint. These guys specialise in both racing bikes and Melbourne's classic Malvern Star. We're talking serious money for serious bikes, serious professionals catering to serious cyclists. Not for the faint-hearted. 8. The Bike Shed, CERES A little anomaly hiding in CERES environmental park, The Bike Shed “is not a bike shop” according to its website. What it is is a place where you go and learn to repair your own bike. Score an eye-poppingly cheap second hander for around 50 bucks, then hang out with the grizzling old timers who'll point you in the direction of the tools and (cheap) parts you'll need to make it roadworthy. Don't come here expecting them to fix your bike because it won't happen (also don't come if you're adverse to gruff responses — read the website for a perfect example of this place's attitude) but come expecting to learn how to become self-sufficient. Teaching cyclists how to fish, not giving them fish, is this place's mission, so if you're enterprising or so broke that you'll put your own bike together to save cash, then this is the place to hit up. Image credit: hanneli.com, www.bicyclerecycle.com.au, pedalcyclery.com.au, reidcycles.com.au, cecilwalker.com.au, samsoncycles.com.au, brightoncycles.com.au, thebikeshed.org.au
Between the inaugural So Pop festival, drawing names like Vengaboys, Aqua and Lou Bega, and RNB Vine Days, headlined by the likes of Nelly and Craig David, the list of international music heroes hitting Aussie stages this summer is already huge. But it's about to get even heftier, with news that the world's biggest hip hop festival Rolling Loud is set to make its southern hemisphere debut next January. The independently owned one-day event hits Sydney Showgrounds on Sunday, January 27, and while the lineup won't be released until later this week, it's set to be seriously buzz-worthy, if previous years' offerings are anything to go by. Since its first outing in Miami back in 2015, Rolling Loud has expanded to Los Angeles and San Francisco, pulling crowds of up to 135,000 earlier this year. Past sell-out events have seen names like Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B, A$AP Rocky, Future, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Post Malone, Migos and Lil Uzi Vert all grace the festival's stage. For Rolling Loud's first Australian foray, young founders Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif are teaming up with local production and events company HSU Events, who has previously brought us big international headliners for the likes of Midnight Mafia and Knockout Circuz. If you're keen to catch Rolling Loud's Aussie debut, you can sign up now for exclusive pre-sale access. The festival will take over Sydney Showgrounds, Olympic Park, on January 27. We'll fill you in on who's headlining as soon as they're announced later this week. Images: Beth Saravo and Sebastian Rodriguez
If you've ever picked up a loved one at the airport, sometimes you might get caught up in the sheer beauty of the moment and simply not know what to say. Those in Amsterdam don't have to worry about becoming a stuttering emotional wreck anymore, as the Schiphol Airport Bannerxpress now allows people to print welcome home signs from a vending machine at the airport. The machine has been under development for the past three years, and recently made its debut at Schiphol Airport. Vending machines now house much more than your standard soft drink, as you can customise these signs with different sizes, fonts, artwork and themes. Depending on how fancy you banner is, this will set you back between 4 and 15 Euros. Depending on the popularity of the machine, Bannerxpress co-founder Thibaud Bruna says that there are plans to place the machines at sporting events and concerts. [via Trendhunter]
We might not have a harbour like our mates up north, but we do have a Yarra River dotted with its fair share of breezy riverside venues. And that collection of waterfront haunts is about to get a little bigger, when new pontoon bar and eatery Yarra Botanica opens its doors in March. Yes folks, Melbourne's set to score another floating bar — and we don't even have to wait until the start of another summer to enjoy it. The work of Australian Venue Co (Fargo & Co, State of Grace, Kewpie, College Lawn Hotel), Yarra Botanica will make its home at Southbank from early spring, delivering a year-round, all-weather food and drink destination where Victorian produce reigns supreme. [caption id="attachment_840167" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sandridge Bridge, Dietmar Rabich via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] As the name suggests, the two-level venue is working to a strong botanical theme, lush with native plants and Indigenous aquatic vegetation, and consciously designed to have minimal impact on the surrounding environment. Onboard, you'll find planter boxes, climbing vines, herb gardens and plenty of edible plants destined for the drinks menu. What's more, only Victorian drops will appear on that list of libations, with the bar committed to pouring exclusively homegrown sips in strong support of the Drinks Victoria program. The extensive lineup is set to showcase plenty of gin — garnished with botanicals from the onsite herb gardens, if you fancy — along with a hefty spread of cocktails, beer, wine and spirits. The matching food offering will feature mostly Victorian produce, with the seasonal menu running to pub-style snacks, share plates and wood-fired pizzas. Expect a focus on fresh local seafood, too. The space itself is a multifaceted one, decked out with group-friendly booths, day beds and sprawling market umbrellas, with an array of comfy spots for kicking back to enjoy the waterfront views. And as for the entertainment, there's a whole stack of goodies to come, including DJs, live tunes and boozy brunch sessions. Yarra Botanica will launch on the river at Sandridge Bridge, Southbank, from March 16. We'll share more details as they drop. Top Image: A render of Yarra Botanica
Krimper is an odd name for a cafe. It immediately conjures images of bad '90s hairstyles and large crimping tools. However, nothing about this venue is outdated. Delve down Guildford Lane, just off Queen Street, and you may think you're lost. Look for the small pink sign among the mess — you've found it. As you walk in, you'll be hit with the somewhat familiar warehouse vibe of the Melbourne laneway cafe scene. This gem, however, is complete with Macklemore singing 'Thrift Shop' on the speakers, bike racks for your portable transportation and a cute little bar down the back. Krimper derives its name from its history. Once a sawmill, the warehouse was more recently the workshop of 20th-century furniture maker Schulim Krimper. After deliberating on what to do with the space, owner and architect Mun Soon felt it was only fitting to turn it into a cafe. Now, ready and open for business, Proud Mary coffee is on the machines and Matthew Sinclair is behind the stove. When it comes to the menu, there is a nice deviance from the expected Melbourne brunch menu. For something sweet try the organic soy and brown rice pudding with agave syrup and fresh fruit ($7.50) or the orange blossom spelt waffles with blueberries, banana, ricotta and maple syrup ($14). For those hankering for savoury try the silver beet and saffron potato omelette served with toast ($14.50), or, if they are on the specials board, go for the corn fritters with gravalax salmon, cream cheese and poached eggs ($18). Lunch regulars include crab and avocado salad with coriander and toasted flatbread ($22) and the New York pastrami sandwich with sauerkraut and mustard on rye ($12). When the afternoon hits and coffee just isn't hitting the spot anymore, Krimper also serve up wine and beer from their small drinks list and are open until 9pm Friday nights for after-work drinks. We'll meet you in the laneway.
If you'd like to kick-start your year partying amongst the farm animals, you'll want to get a moo-ve on and nab tickets to Melbourne's freshest New Year's Eve fest. From the folks behind Carlton nightclub Colour and rooftop bar Runner Up, When Pigs Fly is the new one-day music party set to take over Collingwood Children's Farm on Saturday, December 31. In a grassy farm setting that feels miles further from the city than it actually is, the festival will be sending out the old year with the help of 14 local and international acts, working their magic across two stages. [caption id="attachment_871568" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Black Jesus Experience[/caption] You'll be grooving to the likes of Chicago house sensation Sadar Bahar, funk and hip-hop nine-piece Black Jesus Experience, psychedelic-jazz outfit Mildlife and the genre-blending Close Counters. Plus, the likes of Emma Volard, MzRizk, Zepherin Saint and Feign Jima, carrying you through until 1am. Meanwhile, you'll be fuelled by food from Polly's, and sips by Bodriggy and Iggy Seltzer. [caption id="attachment_871569" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mz Rizk[/caption]
